You’re an employment counselor at a large outplacement firm. Your company is cur

Question

You’re an employment counselor at a large outplacement firm. Your company is currently negotiating with Black Company to provide outplacement services to 500 employees who are about to lose their jobs as the result of a layoff. Your neighbor and good friend is a reporter for the local newspaper, who mentions to you over coffee one Saturday that she’s writing a story about Black Company. According to her sources, 1,500 employees are about to lose their jobs.

You know her numbers are incorrect. Should you tell her?

Explanation / Answer

As a person working for a client, one is not supposed to divulge or discuss internal details to any external source, especially when the person is from media. That will be breach of privacy and confidenciality.

So ethically it is not correct to disclose the number even when one is aware that the figures are incorrect.

But at the same time it would be good if you ask the friend to verify the information with the HR department of Black company before publishing. And might as well give the contact if required.

Again if there is no verification from her end she could be in some sort of trouble and hence should verify her sources once again, so just alert her on that front. Nothing more than that.

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