Workplace Ethical Dilemma
Betty Porter
BSHS 342
October 17, 2011
Tanisha Laidler

Workplace Ethical Dilemma
A student goes to college and takes an Ethics course. He or she comes out of the class thinking that he or she will never compromise their ethics for any job. The thought is usually that they will come out and change the world. Then reality strikes once he or she begins looking for a job. Jobs are scare these days, and he or she ends of compromising himself or herself to keep the job they thought they could change the world with. Then when facing a dilemma at work, which he or she never thought he or she would ever have to make, suddenly a test of their ethics happens. According to Hanson (2010), “ethical dilemmas and choices are an unavoidable part of one's work life,” (Bloomberg Business week).
Essential parts of the dilemma
My workplace ethical dilemma happened recently. Before I describe the dilemma, I will describe my job. I work as youth advocate for a social service agency. A youth advocate responds to crisis calls at local public buildings. The circumstances usually involve a client (between the ages of 12-17) who is refusing to return home or the guardian is refusing to allow him or her to return home. Examples of places we respond are: hospitals, police departments, and schools. So my night starts with a phone call from the hotline. The local police requested a youth advocate for a 16-year-old boy involved in a domestic dispute at home. The boy (I will call Joe) went to the emergency room because he acquired an injury during the dispute. Joe’s mother was refusing to let Joe go back home because she was fearful of more violence. When I arrived, Joe, his mother, and his brother were present. The police and hospital staff told me that the family has suspicions that Joe may have acquired a gun. I spoke with three members of the family. Joe