Your manager asks you to shade a number. It's not illegal. It's not quite honest. And everyone else seems fine with it. Are you?
Part of
Ethics & Integrity at Work →
From shading a number for your manager to witnessing misconduct and deciding whether to report — practice the decisions that define your professional character. These are the conversations most people avoid. They are also the ones that matter most.
Skills you'll build
What happens in this story4 scenarios
Your manager asks you to adjust a number in the report. Not by much. Not illegally. Just enough to make the quarter look better. The request sounds casual — the implications aren't.
Everyone in the room signed off on it. The client won't notice. Your manager's manager approved it. You're the only person who feels wrong about this — and that loneliness is the point.
It's not a crime. It's not even clearly unethical. But somewhere between 'technically fine' and 'clearly wrong' is a line — and you're standing on it right now, trying to see which side you're on.
You've decided this isn't something you can do. Now you have to say no to people who have the power to make your life very difficult — without burning the relationships you still need.
More stories in this course
View all →The Witness
You saw something that wasn't meant for your eyes. Now you have to decide whether speaking up is courage or career suicide.
4 scenarios →The Credit Grab
Your work got presented as someone else's. It happens all the time. But letting it slide has a cost you haven't calculated yet.
4 scenarios →The Values Test
The promotion requires you to defend something you do not believe in. The money is real. The compromise is too.
4 scenarios →The Grey Area
Your manager asks you to shade a number. It's not illegal. It's not quite honest. And everyone else seems fine with it. Are you?
Start free →4 scenarios · 25 min · No account required to try