can you lie for your friend at the office?
By Nnaemeka
@mydanods (6513)
Nigeria
October 14, 2012 12:12pm CST
if your friend commits a crime, at the office, and he depends on your lie to save his job, would you do it? especially when your reputation is above board? why would you or why would you not? remember that if one is caught lying for a serious crime, then he risks so many years of hard fought and hard earned reputation.
3 people like this
22 responses
@subhojit10 (7375)
• India
14 Oct 12
Thanks for posting this discussion. Well it depends on the crime he has done. If he has done something very serious which is against your morality then no matter how much closer he is to u, u should never lie for him. There are at times that our colleagues commit small mistakes that can be covered up by us but doing it all the time will turn into an ugly habit.
What say?
@ravisivan (14079)
• India
14 Oct 12
subhojit
I agree with you. we cannot give a definite answer for this. If we say totally yes that is wrong. if we say totally no that is also wrong. it will depend on the circumstances.
this type of questions are asked in interviews-- normally in interviews we should give a firm answer. but for this type of questions there cannot be a definite answer.
@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
15 Oct 12
i do agree with subhojit10 myself. it all depends on the crime he has done and if he is a repeat offender, and particularly, if i can subscribe to such a crime! if i can't subscribe to such a crime, then i'd have to reconsider our friendship. i think that is what i am thinking right now.
@riyauro (6421)
• India
14 Oct 12
I would not help him here in this situation if I don't know what other crimes he is capable of. I would not take the risk because I will have problems later on. When one commits a crime, he or she should be ready for the consequences once caught. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day ahead. ![](/Content/images/emotes/happy.gif)
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@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
15 Oct 12
have a wonderful day, riyauro. whoever commits a crime should be ready for the consequences, especially where he committed the crime with the knowledge that it was a crime. i do take your stand. no matter how close we might be, if i do not know and was not a party to the crime, why should i stand up for him? but if i was a party to it, then i would consider it a joint responsibility; as if i was in his place.
1 person likes this
@silverfox09 (4708)
• United States
28 Oct 12
What kinda crime ? do you mean jail time crime ? are just breaking simple office policy ? .
I would not be apart of a crime for a friend, that friend will be on his/her own
. I would not lie for them , I would black mail them instead for half their pay for a year
... Just kidding ![](/Content/images/emotes/whistle.gif)
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@GemmaR (8517)
•
15 Oct 12
I don't know if I can give a specific answer that would fit every situation because it would depend on exactly what happened. If they were my friend then I would do everything that I could to support them, especially if it was the first time that they had ever asked me to lie for them. If it had gone on for a little longer than this, and they had been asking for me to lie about things for a while, then I would be more likely to talk to them about it and suggest that they should be truthful as this would be a lot better for everybody in the long term.
@vandana7 (99882)
• India
15 Oct 12
mydanods..I failed there. I mean..I was always able to compartmentalize friendship and professional duties initially. Then for some reason my first boss suspected one of his partners and asked me to keep a tab on his phone calls. This partner was a good friend of mine. I mechanically did that without really thinking over the repercussions. But one day I discussed it in a covert way with my neighbor who was like a brother to me. He said that is not done. You need to walk up to the boss and tell you cant do it, and you are not being paid for that. I did that as well..lol. After my neighbor told me, I realized I had been very very mean to my friend, who incidentally helped me a couple of times earlier. So I felt very sorry for him.
@thewonderboy (7501)
• India
15 Oct 12
I think it is my duty to help my good friend when he is trouble. It doesn't matter how deep the trouble is. As a good friend it is my duty to save him or her.
@jencai (3412)
• Philippines
15 Oct 12
It's a difficult situation. I have to choose only one and I guess I would rather report it to the office. My friend would lose the job because it's the consequence of what he or she did. If I'll try to hide the truth I might be involved too. And sooner I might lose my job.
@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
15 Oct 12
although i might be tempted to report, i would not be so "rigid" as you'd want me to be. i'd try to be human. at least, allow the office to ask for my say. i'd rather he put himself in the spot and tell them i can defend him, so i'd be wondering if he wanted me to be a sort of "ally" to his wrongdoing.
happy working week.
@Paper_Doll (2373)
• Philippines
15 Oct 12
I don't think I can do that as you said that he committed a crime? May I know what type of crime is it so I can make some considerations? I know that some those who hold higher positions in the office have this power to just put aside what his staff has committed. I remember a person I know committed a crime in her office and the security has caught her. She knew the boss from the other department and this person called her boss after the incident came to her knowledge. And that's it, the office did not file a case against her. It is just between her boss and the boss of the other department.
As I am not a boss and just a regular employee, I don't think I have to power to save anyone. Or even if I am at the top, I would still think first as I do not want to risk my hard earned integrity.
@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
15 Oct 12
the nature of the crime is what i want to remain personal or private to myself. what i want to know is, if you were in a position to say a word and your word would set him free, would you do it, considering the fact that your reputation is undeniable. what would you do?
i do agree with you on the point of integrity. no one wants to lose his hard earned integrity because if it is found out later that you lied to set a friend free, then, what goes for your integrity? no one would take your word for what it is, maybe, tomorrow, or whenever an important issue comes up in the office. some would think you have built up a circle of deception after winning the hearts of your colleagues. get the point?
@igatiful_badass (1222)
• Philippines
15 Oct 12
yes if it is worth to protect but whatever the management decision for that certain mistake let it be.. At least your friend knows that you stand for him/her.
@arnabroy16 (438)
• Howrah, India
15 Oct 12
If he commit a crime, I would not going to help him even if he is my best friend...
@Sukeena1961 (343)
• United States
15 Oct 12
When I hear commit a crime only one thing comes to mind, against the law and I would never lie to cover up a crime. Friend or no friend. I wouldn't lie for a family member. One night at work a co worker came to work and he had been drinking. He was there to relieve me,it was midnight. I sent him home and called my boss. I told my boss what had happened and he said he would try to find someone to relieve me. My relief came at 4a.m. The next time I caught him drinking he lost his job. I could have covered for him, but I didn't. We were working security and if something had happened, we both would have gotten into trouble and I weren't risking my job and reputation for him or anyone else. In my opinion a friend is not much of a friend if they commit a crime on the job and ask you to put your job and reputation on the line by helping them cover their indiscretion, by lying. No, I don't think so.
@Sukeena1961 (343)
• United States
15 Oct 12
This is a double submission. I don't know what happened. when I submitted my first response it popped up that they couldn't post it the way it was for me to rewrite it. I did and both was posted. Sorry.
@Sukeena1961 (343)
• United States
15 Oct 12
When I hear the words "commit a crime" that says one thing to me "against the law" and the answer to that is no I would not lie for him/her to keep their job. I'm not going to lie and cover for anyone that has committed a crime, I would probably be the one that reported it. Friend or no friend. I wouldn't lie for a family member. I was on the job one night and a coworker came to work and he had been drinking. He was there to relieve me. I sent him home and called my boss and told him what had happened. This was midnight. My boss said he would find someone to relieve me. It was 4 a.m. before my relief came. In my opinion the 'friend' is not much of a friend if he committed a crime knowingly then tries to drag you into it by asking you to lie for him to cover it up. He wants you to put your job and reputation on the line for his indiscretion. No, I don't think so.
@paulsea88 (18)
• China
15 Oct 12
First you have to evaluate the risk of ruining your reputation. After all, built up your reputation in your company is not easy, if you lose your job on lying to the police or company, it doesn't worth.
But if nobody need you to prove his/her crime, you better to keep silence to protect your friend, of curse you can choose to reveal his crime, but if you do this, you will lose this friend forever.
If the authority need your help to accuse your friend, you should have to state the fact. After the statement, you have better to find your friend expaining why you have to do this, the main point is "you have no choice, it is a huge risk if you lie". In this way, I think he will forget you.
@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
15 Oct 12
yes, he will. one has to weight the pros and cons of friendship against his reputation and own job. i think friendship has more cons because you'd have to wonder why he should commit the crime in the first place. if he was successful, would he have told you about it? definitely no.
happy working week.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
14 Oct 12
I would certainly try to protect a fellow worker for a simple misdemeanour or a minor breach of company policy, but that is as far as I would go.
When you talk about a serious crime, then we are dealing with a very different matter. I would never consider covering up for someone who has either committed a crime or been involved in a serious breach of company policy. Furthermore, I would not consider them a friend if they expected me to become involved in something of that nature. A friend does not put you in that sort of situation.
@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
15 Oct 12
a friend does not put you in that sort of position. i checked up the definition of friend on the search engine and it says: a person one knows and trusts, is acquainted with. a friend that you know should commit only crimes you can agree to. i believe we both agree to that. i cannot be involved in something which is against company policy or a serious breach of procedure. thanks, asylum.
@julyteen (13252)
• Davao, Philippines
14 Oct 12
It depends on the situation. If I am not put in danger I will lie for the sake of my friend but if too dangerous I will think many time before I decide what I'm going to do. If it is a minor mistakes, I will keep it myself.
Do you mind to tell it here?![](/Content/images/emotes/rolleyes.gif)
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@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
15 Oct 12
don't mind at all but will be irrelevant. thanks for your response. i appreciate your kindness. i love your view of self sacrificing but it can put you in trouble sometimes, especially where you don't know if that friend is a repeat offender. get what i mean?
@akash009 (452)
• India
15 Oct 12
hello,
it totally depends on the type of crime he committed and the way it affects other people. if the crime he committed is a serious one then i should tell everyone about it and not lie. because if it causes a great harm to others then it is equally wrong to hide it. so i will definitely go against my friend. but if the crime is not that big and does not affect any one then i think its okay to lie about it to save my friend. i can do my friend this small favor. everyone will do it. its not that big a deal to lie for friendship. everyone does it at some point or the other.
@mydanods (6513)
• Nigeria
15 Oct 12
if you look at it the other way round. will telling the truth cause both of you to lose your friendship? i wonder how i would feel if he was committing the crime without considering if his friends would accept him as a friend any longer if they learned of it? remember: guilt by association is hard to rub off. what say you to that?
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
14 Oct 12
yes if he is my dearest friend and he has done some mistake i can stand up for him only once not always![](/Content/images/emotes/blink.gif)
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@ravisivan (14079)
• India
14 Oct 12
mydanods:
if the crime is a big one the best option will be not to tell a lie. if it is like coming late to office and reasons therefor then it is ok.
i think you would have faced a similar situation and you might have told the truth. Telling truth is better in most situations.
@BlackoutWorm (54)
• Norway
14 Oct 12
I'm not good at lying. But I can if I have to.
It also depends on how we are friends and what background we got as friends.
If it's just a regular friend at work then I'd probably be able to.
But again, depends on the situation.
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