KEEPING YOUR INTEGRITY INTACT – A lot of people lose their jobs for being dishonest. I was one of them and I regret it to this day. Not because I got caught for being dishonest, but for abusing the trust that was given to me by people who believed in me the most. Here’s a quick story on how I resigned from one the jobs I loved the most.
Earlier in my days working for a global company (I won’t mention the company and the year it happened), I was hired for a managerial position for a huge account that I had a great client-vendor relationship with. I was hired because of my experience working for the project in my earlier years as a supervisor. I was doing great with the account, impressing our client for constantly improving our process every month and quarter. 2 years in, I was handling the entire account of over 4,000 employees and 6 Operations Managers with my boss based in the US. My working hours were from 8:00 PM to 5:00 AM during weekdays and the way my daily attendance was monitored was through my work laptop by connecting to our online time keeping system.
But for certain days that I knew I was going to be late for work, I would log in to work from my laptop at home using a VPN to “pretend” that I was at work earlier. But in fact, I was going to be an hour or two late for work. Whatever my selfish reasons were, it didn’t matter. I would do this 1 to 2 times a week and it became a habit of mine. I knew it was wrong, but I kept doing it. Finally, after about 8 months of doing it, a network specialist from the client side saw an unusual log in pattern from my home during my work hours, and had it compared to my physical log in using my company ID records. It didn’t match at all. This got reported to my boss who was based in the US.
I got caught red handed for being dishonest about my working hours. It didn’t matter that I was doing a great job at work running the entire project. I had disappointed my team, my company and my boss who had given me so much freedom plus the highest level of trust which I wasted. Instead of getting reprimanded for it by our HR department, I tendered my resignation immediately, leaving the job that given me so much growth and freedom to operate.
To this day, I still keep in touch with my former boss through social media, but we never discussed about it again. I was in my 20’s during that time and learned a valuable lesson in keeping your integrity intact always.
I’m one of the many examples of people whose success was built on sand to say the least. It’s so easy and very tempting to just cut corners to pursue various reasons of selfishness. Doing what I did thinking I could not get caught became a habit when I did it for the 2nd, 3rd 4th time and so on. I was never made accountable for something that was never seen by anybody. This is one of the reasons why I dislike being late for anything nowadays. What I learned before was such a painful reminder for me to keep my integrity intact. What I was doing was stealing company paid time, which I was paid for on time always.
There’s many ways people act without integrity:
1. Selling a car and pretending that it’s running smoothly but really, it’s not.
2. Selling a house without disclosing the issues with the neighbors next door.
3. Claiming to have a particular qualification to get a better paying position at another company.
4. Not telling the truth to banks, clients, investors, family members or suppliers to get a loan, to sell a faulty product or to just delay paying for something you owe.
5. Creating fake sales figures, financial accruals and other numbers to ensure that you earn your full year-end bonus, get a salary increase or that coveted job promotion.
It’s so easy to cut corners, but it’s so hard to keep an intact integrity when there are plenty of temptations to do so. Just remember that all you’ve got is your reputation.
KEEP YOUR EYES WIDE OPEN ALWAYS. Here’s why.
Be careful and be observant to not allow yourself to be caught up in any form of deception. Always be on the lookout for any lapses in integrity and ethics. They come in many forms. From your boss encouraging you to boost up your sales numbers artificially at year-end, to someone offering you great investing tips that you think could be insider trading.
Any time you face situations like these, just say no. Be ready to decline and just step away. If need be, speak up and report it to the relevant authorities.
It’s also our job to keep other people honest by reminded and giving them the courage to act with integrity. This is how we can guide other people to do the right thing.
I have nobody else to blame for me letting go of the job I loved the most at that time. I did it all to myself, and we all learn our greatest lessons the hard way.
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January 20, 2021 Author Hans Angelo
Some important prerequisites for integrity are: being empathetic, honest, courageous, authentic and having conscience.
Being a person of integrity is one of the hardest things to accomplish, but it’s also one of the most valuable traits one can obtain in life.
January 20, 2021 Author edward
A person of integrity stands for that which he believes in. A person without one is likely to fall for anything. He’s the kind of person one might refer to as having ‘loose’ morals.
January 20, 2021 Author Anton
Something with integrity is something whole. In a person it refers to the fact that you have character and stick to your principles.
The opposite of integrity refers to something or someone corrupt, without honor or grace, incongruous
January 20, 2021 Author genesis
Someone said that integrity is having the wisdom of knowing the right path to take and then having the courage to take it and maintain it regardless of opposition.
It’s your inner beacon of righteousness morality and ethics and your drive to do the right thing.
Integrity is independent of, wealth, talent, status, looks, education, occupation
January 20, 2021 Author renato
It means that you always do the right thing. It means that you can get up & face yourself in the mirror every morning & never feel any shame about what you did the day before. It means you are honest in all your dealings with all people. You set a good example, one that can be followed & anybody following it knows that they are doing the right thing because they know you will always do the right thing.
January 20, 2021 Author Jerome
A person who has moral integrity will work for a living, while a person who lacks integrity will steal from the person who works
January 20, 2021 Author nico
Living with integrity means living with trueness.
When you are true means you are honest.Honesty is a good quality of human being.
You can win trust and happiness by living with integrity.
January 20, 2021 Author Henrique
Living life with integrity to me is adherence to certain values, discipline, hardwork, loyalty , responsibilities, and no expectation.
February 3, 2021 Author Andrea
Integrity is about living in alignment with who you are and your truths. When we are in the world we behave authentically, meaning we have genuine reactions or responses to others. The importance of it is, when we are in alignment we are able to be ourselves, hold strong boundaries and connect with people who honour and respect who you are. We may experience happy coincidences and feel we are in the flow of life.
When are not practicing integrity, life reflects that back to us as unhappy relationships, because we allow people to trample our boundaries. Things don’t work out and we may experience a feeling of ‘imposter syndrome’. We may have a deep yearning for something missing in our life. Being out of integrity means we are not respecting ourselves and the internal critic in our mind may be beating us up. That can lead to depression, or physical illness over a long period of time.
February 3, 2021 Author Joseph Santos
Usually we are not in integrity because we are hiding something from ourselves. This may be, and usually is, some false limiting beliefs that we learned early in childhood and kept with us, along the lines of ‘I am not worthy of love’. So we don’t love ourselves and may spend much of our life beating ourselves up in our mind. In order to love ourselves, we need to see those false beliefs. We need to find where they came from, how did they start? Behind that memory is likely to be a whole lot of supressed pain that the younger child was not able to experience because it occur pre-speech, or there was no loving adult to counter the effects of a parent who was either verbally, psychologically or abusing the child on a physical level, or even neglecting the child due to their addictions. Some abuse is obvious, some is very subtle. But it is usually where the false limiting beliefs began in a child mind because they had no other way to make sense of their world.
February 3, 2021 Author Nico
As we move into integrity, into living in alignment with our truth, we are shifting so profoundly that we might start letting go of people in our lives who are not healthy for us. Even if this causes temporary pain and these people have a reaction we need to do what we need to do to honour ourselves and set a boundaries on what we will and won’t allow in our life. New people come into our life who are also in a place of integrity, and our relationships become stronger than ever before, more fulfilling, loving and intimate than ever before.
In integrity we look after our body, giving it food that nourishes it, ensuring we get adequate sleep, water and exercise. We may meditate daily for the health of our connection with our soul.
This is what it means to be fully integrated with who we are, and why it is so important.
February 3, 2021 Author Jimbogs
Well, integrity is the core value that every employer looks for in every potential employee. In fact, it is the core value of the operation of an established venture. Employees who have integrity always tell the truth, stay accountable and reliable, and treat their customers as well as co-workers with respect. You can find integrity coming in many forms. However, it would be more advantageous, if it comes in the form of honesty, reliability, judgment, and loyalty. Integrity is important in the workplace, as it can foster a positive culture in the duty station. Having integrity in the workplace will help the organization to perform better. Besides that, you can easily gain trust and respect from the people around you which is more important for business survival.
February 3, 2021 Author Nico
Learn to value your work and your time, learn to appreciate the little moments in life because life moves so fast, you may find out you miss it.
Go out on a sunny day to enjoy the sun, go to a market and buy a bunch of tropical fruit to enjoy a fruit platter.
Live the little things as well as the big things, aim high but respect your groundwork and life will be golden to you no matter what you set out to achieve.
February 18, 2021 Author Dwayne
Integrity in the workplace is one of the most important qualities that the recruiters seek in the employees they hire. Integrity is the foundation of trust and confidence. Integrity involves honesty and moral and ethical principles. Integrity is one of the fundamental values which are crucial for all the employees. It is important at all levels and as an individual as well. Being honest and having integrity will help you in building a better relationship with your co-workers.
February 18, 2021 Author Dwayne
It is very important that you follow ethical standards and moral values in your workplace. People with integrity are considered trustworthy. All successful businesses are built on relationships. And qualities such as honesty, integrity, and trust are fundamentals which help maintain the relationships. In the absence of integrity and honesty, the relationship between co-workers may damage which may lead to a decline in productivity. Therefore, these qualities are very important in the workplace for effective organizational performance.
February 18, 2021 Author Nico
Integrity is important everywhere, but in the workplace, it is important to the people around you including management, coworkers, clients and potential clients.
If you tell anyone from anyone from any of these groups that you will do something and do not follow through, then you lose their respect.
Management may fire you or never give you a raise or promotion. Coworkers will not want to work with you where they depend on you for any reason. Clients may associate your lack or integrity with the company because the company has not fired you for lack of integrity. Clients will also tell other people – potential clients – about your lack of integrity and these potential clients will choose a different company to work with.
If you do what you way you will, then management will depend on you and promotions and raises will come your way. Coworkers will recommend you for projects and want to work with you. Clients will recommend you to other people and give you free advertising by word of mouth.
February 18, 2021 Author James Santos
Integrity is about being consistent to a set of values that includes how you treat people. It also means that what you choose to do in any situation but especially in situation when the easy route is tempting but not aligned with values or potentially harmful is to stay the course.
Honesty is considered a good practice as one part of maintaining integrity but it can be used with little integrity and we see this all too often these days.
February 18, 2021 Author Edward
I believe if a person were to seek integrity in their life that would include a wholeness and balance of all those qualities that are of value.
Integrity is an inclusive word that contains morals, honesty, principles and ethics within it – so if a person has integrity it is to be assumed that person would also embrace the other characteristics as this is what integrity consists of.
So, for me, the word integrity is a noun which represents the whole of all those other parts: morals, principles, ethics, honesty.
February 18, 2021 Author Anton
In my opinion, having integrity is being honest PLUS. The plus would stand for so many things.
Being honest, plus really caring for your fellow man and wanting to make a difference to others in the nicest possible way, using the wisdom that has been bestowed to you.
Being honest plus open with others. Keeping your word at all times; delivering what you stated you were going to deliver.
Being honest plus being empathetic towards the needs of others. Don’t allow for compromises unless absolutely necessary.
Being honest plus staying true to yourself and not pretending to be something you are not.
Being honest and believing in the values of life, be they moral, artistic, political, and social.
Integrity = being complete, being undivided, being whole.
February 18, 2021 Author Genesis
The most meaningful definition I ever heard is integrity means you’re the same on the outside as you are on the inside. It means being true to yourself.
Most commonly it means being honest and ethical. Someone with integrity could be given a chance to get away with walking away with a million dollars in cash and wouldn’t.
February 18, 2021 Author Rome
If people can see you like how you see yourself, then you have won in life.
We are all imperfect. Humans are creatures that will take temptations which breaks integrity. I myself may have not practiced integrity at a few occasions, but I have reflected back and told myself not to do it again. The key here is forgiving yourself and walk forward in the correct direction.
February 18, 2021 Author Rhona
The world’s problems start with the first lie we tell ourselves and others,
Lies are the virus that infect our minds with corrupted data, having a detrimental effect on the Integrity or security of your world. Like viruses, lies self-replicate and spread to other hosts. This is a mistake that quickly spreads to others exponentially.
One lie is one less layer of integrity and one more layer of doubt.
Life is what we make of it. We all need to sit on the fence of perspective to see both sides simultaneously, then figure out what’s really important.
February 18, 2021 Author Jerome
A human is regarded by his absolute integrity. Always believe in your morality and goodness, while never leave your morality due to others evils.
Integrity is the best feature of humans. Such humans are always respected everywhere. Only a few people have such feature now a day. Integrity is such a beautiful feature, which always results in best. It’s only the matter of perfect time. The time, when your integrity is recognized, you are the most successful, valued and respectable employ. You would always be cared specially, by the employer.
So, finally, the integrity matters in any profession at any time.
February 18, 2021 Author Joseph Santos
Integrity in business is like integrity in any other area of life: doing the right thing regardless of the circumstances.
To me, this is first and foremost, being honest with my clients–honest about pricing, conditions and outcomes, etc.
In order to be honest, you must take accountability and expect that everyone within your organization do the same.
After all, the fish rots from the head!
March 5, 2021 Author Aldwin
Integrity means following your moral or ethical convictions and doing the right thing in all circumstances, even if no one is watching you. Having integrity means you are true to yourself and would do nothing that demeans or dishonour’s you.
March 5, 2021 Author Nigel
Keep your promises even if it takes extra effort.
March 5, 2021 Author Nigel
Do not gossip or talking badly about someone.
March 5, 2021 Author James Santos
Be responsible. Do what you say you will do.
March 5, 2021 Author Edward
I want to share my favourite quote
“Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.” – W. Clement Stone
March 5, 2021 Author Redido
“Perhaps the surest test of an individual’s integrity is his refusal to do or say anything that would damage his self-respect.”
March 5, 2021 Author Anton
You are in integrity when the life you are living on the outside matches who you are on the inside.
March 5, 2021 Author Rome
There are several reasons why integrity is so important. First, living a life of integrity means that we never have to spend time or energy questioning ourselves. When we listen to our hearts and do the right thing, life becomes simple.
March 5, 2021 Author Joseph Santos
Yes one should make right choices based on their values in private, but integrity also involves publicly acknowledging your convictions such activism, or simply standing up for others against what you know is wrong.
March 5, 2021 Author Rome
Stay true to yourself. There will be those in life who will challenge your beliefs and nothing else, because what is important to them is that those types of people place no value on anything or anyone and see you as game they must win at all costs. I give them an initial respect and then disassociate myself with their mentality never to return. Most of them are stunned and never really get it.
March 5, 2021 Author Jimbogs
If you want to develop a reputation as being someone who delivers on their promises, make a habit of always keeping your word. This means that yes needs to mean yes and no means no, without excuses or a change of conditions. This also means being on time—or even early—when you say you will be. It means demonstrating respect for others’ time and notifying them right away if you’ll be late.