5 Shocking Reasons Why Professional Dishonesty Is Now The Greatest Cause Of Career Failure
By Perminus Wainaina
Dishonesty seems to define our age. Just admit it.
You’ve called in sick at least once or twice in your place of work when you clearly knew that it was never a health scare. Probably a cold or you just felt lazy. (It happens)
Or better still, getting current, a recent survey has revealed that about 58% of employees are prone to call in sick especially with the FIFA World Cup mood or when their best team will be playing.
Just think about it…
Currently, Kenya has a thriving corporate industry based on dishonesty, ranging from falsifying documents in interviews to outright fraud in business.
A closer look into the recent corporate scandals  sheds greater light on the shadiness nature of this current corporate world.
It now appears like for you to succeed as a professional, you have to use dubious methods, engage in shady activities or dishonest dealings just to achieve that success.
But did you know this comes at a cost of its own?
Contrary to your belief, dishonesty destroys your career completely.
Here is how;
1. It’s creates a false persona of yourself
The whole idea behind dishonesty is making yourself out to be someone you’re not.
This starts from a simple lie like lying about why you’re late to work, lying about why you need some days off, lying about your competence in that job interview or even worse about your responsibilities on your CV.
See, it starts small.
It then grow to a character which finally defines your persona. And keep in mind that trying to live out this non-existent persona is extremely difficult.
It can create some psychological problems, low self-esteem at work or even depression and a general sense of mistrust among the people you shall be interacting with once you’re caught.
Most employers and colleagues have a hard time trusting those who seem artificial.
2. It burns professional bridges and kills other important networks
Let’s face it.
Who has never been a victim of dishonesty, from underweight meat from that butcher in your neighbourhood to candidates in interviews who promise what they cannot deliver.
Or rather how many people known to you have been promised jobs by relatives or a friend of a friend and they never got the job?
As we said earlier, not all dishonesty at work has to involve theft or fraud. Even what you might think of as a white lie is still a lie.
If you tell your boss that you have to miss Friday’s meeting because you’re going to a funeral and it comes out that you actually went to the salon your relationship is going to suffer.
This is because work relations are built on trust.
Hence, as an ethical professional, it is very importance to uphold integrity and moral ethics in the workplace to brand yourself in the best light possible.
Who knows?
The very same employers you stole from last year before you moved to your new job, could be the same person being consulted about your professional background!
3. Dishonesty has the ability to destroy a great business
Any dishonesty dealing in a company goes beyond lowering its productivity. It kills the entrepreneurship spirit and finally brings down the entire business.
Just look at firms like Microsoft and PwC.
They were started by one or two very honest people and the firms are able to expand successfully because the founders and employees are rooted in an honest culture.
Now coming to Kenya, it has become hard to start enterprises with fellow Kenyans including relatives.
As soon as profits starts coming, dishonesty sets in.  And remember, 80% of people make a decision to purchase goods or services from your company, based on that company’s ethicality.
When it loses its ethics, it loses its entire basis of operations.
So your dishonest tricks have tremendous power of bringing down an entire business!
4. It ruins your reputation as a trustworthy professional
Each of us has a reputation that follows us from place to place.
That reputation may be good or it may be bad. I hope yours is good and I’m assuming that you want to keep it that way.
You see, in today’s hyper-connected world, even the smallest public misstep can spell the end of your once-great reputation.
Whether it’s lying to cover up a mistake or adding a few thousand shillings to your salary history in the hopes of getting a better offer, getting caught lying is a sure-fire way to fatally harm your reputation with anyone who hears about it.
The workplace depends on being able to take people at their word; if you show that people can’t trust you, you’ll have a terrible time building the relationships that you need at work and when you’re looking for your next job.
So, what’s the antidote for Dishonesty in the work place?
The antidote to dishonesty in the workplace is nothing but the truth itself.
However, this is better said than done especially in Kenya where according to the Star, Corruption has grown by 240% over 5 years.
It takes an individual stand.
Honesty must be a rooted ethic that comes to you by default, something that advises you every time you open your mouth to defend that mistake, turn on your computers to send that late emails, or make a very crucial decision in the company in general.
As Mr. Mutuma Mathiu one of the authors of the Daily Nation puts it, we may present ourselves as polished and educated but our dishonesty and scarcity mentality shows that we are still peasants, hunched over a smoky fire in a hut with holes on the wall somewhere deep in Africa.
It’s time we realized that true career success comes to the honest and only the honest!
Well put Victor… An interesting perspective right there
Its interesting to read this article presented from a recruitments firms perspective
In all my years working on major projects around the world and in various industries ,that are normally around 2-3 years in length, per project assignment ,the most relevant and important part of your CV are related to your performance with that organisation on a project ,to even be considered for any other opportunities .
So making up performance or your achievements are a no,no ,,and most of the times your next project or job are related to someone mentioning your name ,word to month reference,,people know you ,and if you forward your CV for consideration for a new opportunity your references must match what you are saying in your CV .that is why i use Linked in as a reference on my CV linked to my profile to verify the facts in terms of recommendations and references from past organisations or colleagues.
Where does the dishonesty start ,i have to say at the organisations ,the reason ,why i say this are reflected in the vague job descriptions and expectations set for the role ,compiled with the fact that most organisations use ATS to scan CV submittals for a role before it even gets to a human for evaluation.
Competition for roles are tough -and sometimes candidates enlarge their importance to stand a chance of an interview ,i say get back to basics and evaluate a person based on actual experience against requirements ,if you look at academic criteria for some roles you will notice that it is set hi above the industry norm and organisations set this benchmark ,based on their culture or values,to eliminate candidates -because the current market,gives them a choice .
If a candidate is lucky enough to get a role with an organization ,the next important step is to find a balance in the new culture to achieve the expectations set for a role .and unfortunately this comes to the forefront,when the candidate must fulfill the requirements or targets.
In all my years working in various industries that included ,Construction ,Oil and Gas and Government Projects,the only criteria that counts is achieving results .its not just a job .
If you are doing something with the aim to only bring in a Salary you are missing the point.
Strive to be the best in your industry or level of expertise,you decide what Companies ?,
In an age where connectivity and technology drive industries ,all information can be shared on various platforms .
Make yourself relevant to current industry norms and stay away from scams or unrealistic expectations ,set by organisations ,
Stay real and stay relevant ,and know yourself ,each individual are unique and carry different perspectives and ideas ,the question should be are the Company that i consider to spend my life with 8-12 hour per day,worth it ,its a mutual relationship ,and am i achieving my goals ?
So to summarise,at no stage in your work career can you afford to embellish ,lie about your achievements and results .
Be yourself
hi,
iam searching for work after a long period out because my company that i worked for was sold,and i was ill for sometime,iam happy you mentioned this subject on dishonesty and iam also happy because i got work experience not working in Kenya but in the UK,great Britain.One solution to dishonesty is be honest yourself to your employees,how, pay them well.look like for example in Kenya lets make it that all those at work,even the meanest jobs please pay them above 50k,whether a driver or a cleaner,believe you me that’s why the developed countries do and they are very developed and
{madeni yao ya kiserikali are very high and here we complain},they pay their staff EXTREMELY well,that way you will never carry anything stolen in your pocket in the name of trying to help yourself in any way,you have money to do whatever you like,thats why again you find in developed countries its students who work in restaurants,coffeshops,burger shops,pizza ins,and so forth ask anyone they will prove to you,no one likes those small mean jobs.pay them money even if there are no jobs in Kenya,allow the ones with work get very well paid and your goats and sheep will be safe,in fact your staff will be happy to even graze them at night because they are happy to do so.Re numerate everybody that has work well and businesses will make returns,let joblessness not be an excuse to pay those who have work well.I can see here you pay managers 150000 shs, that is what i was being paid as a porter(a mean job here) in th uk,plus tips and occasionally part time jobs if you like,illness brought me back to Kenya,that’s why i am looking for work here,i am happy.bless.
WOW. This is quite some writing. Inspiring!!
Great piece of advice,thanks Sir.
Inspiring message there. The moral lesson is to strictly stick to the truth.