I stopped telling my boss about every small mistake after a coworker got fired

For years, I would report every tiny error I saw, like a $10 overcharge on a client invoice. I thought it was about being honest. Then last month, a guy in accounting got let go for a string of small mistakes I had flagged. Management said it was a pattern, but I felt sick. Now I fix what I can quietly and only speak up for big things. How do you draw the line between being honest and protecting someone's job over a small slip?

4 comments

4 Comments

lopez.emery3mo ago

Honestly, you were right to report them; that's your job.

wade8713mo ago

Yeah, and it helps keep things safe for everyone.

betty_kelly93mo ago

My job title should really be "Professional Tattletale." I once reported a guy for trying to sell homemade pickles in the canned goods aisle. He got real mad, said I was stifling his "artisanal brine business." The security guard just ate the evidence.

joel_jones1mo ago

Pickles are a pretty low stakes crime, especially when the guy is just trying to sell them in a store. Unless they were actively making people sick or something, it feels like a lot of paperwork for a salty snack. Maybe there's a line somewhere between a health hazard and just a guy being a little weird about his side hustle.