Is Honesty Always the Best Policy?

I was raised to tell the truth, that honesty was the best policy. This didn’t mean that I was always truthful, but it did mean that if I was caught in a lie, there were consequences.

Does this principle still apply today in the realm of labour relations?

Sometimes, we can find ourselves in situations where omitting a fact or embellishing some details appears to look like it might help to get us out of a hot spot. But sometimes, it can cost us our job.

In a recent arbitration case, an employee was terminated for kneeing a coworker in the groin. Despite his 20 years of service at this industrial plant, the arbitrator upheld his dismissal for failing to acknowledge his wrongdoing.

The decision outlined that “the most influential factor in the determination of penalty has been an overall assessment of the type of employee the individual has shown him or herself to be, with particular emphasis on the possibility of a recurrence of behaviour. This assessment is particularly influenced by the employee’s failure to acknowledge misconduct and apologize.”

Within the context of work, facts are decided on the balance of probabilities. If an arbitrator concludes that the most likely explanation is that a grievor is guilty, then that will be the outcome.

Arbitrators focus on the rehabilitative potential of a person. Can they learn from this situation? Someone who continues to protest his or her innocence may be viewed as someone who can’t learn from the situation.

Contrary to what you might believe to be the case at your workplace, the whole point of discipline is to correct one’s behaviour. If you can learn from the situation, then this leads to more successful relationships—and a more successful outcome at grievance hearings.