During a job at an events company , I was assigned the role of a supervisor. As a large portion of my workers were Chinese, the team was rushing to finalise preparations prior to the long Chinese New Year holiday. However, one of them informed me that despite not following the standard procedure and applying for leave days before, he desperately needed to be excused from work for the next two days. This was due to a last minute situation in which his single mother required help with the sales of Chinese oranges at the wet market as her helper had quit. He pleaded with me and said that his mother could not carry all the cartons on her own and that without him, she will not only struggle to meet ends meet but this could also hurt his family’s values.
I could empathise with him and believed him as on previous occasions, he also helped his mother out at the wet market before coming into work. But, I knew that no last minute requests of leave would be entertained by my superiors. Even so, I was tempted to let him leave work without requesting for further approval. However, I realised that the consequences of that included going against the principles of fairness towards the rest of my employees and my personal integrity
Ultimately, I decided that the best course of action would still have to be following the principle of honesty and approach my superior with the request. We both agreed to accept his appeal, as we felt that had any of us been in his shoes, we would not have been able to carry out our jobs effectively and efficiently knowing that someone we loved was struggling. This exemplifies that by following the correct procedure, personal integrity and respect for my superior can be easily achieved, while still granting my employees request.
Ian's brain farts 
Dear Ian,
Thank you for sharing such a relatable scenario that I believe occurs quite frequently in the work place. I felt that the way you handled the situation was fair and just, as it is indeed tempting to take the matter into your own hands. This is because oftentimes, when such last minute requests are being made, it is due to something cropping up at the eleventh hour. Nonetheless, I respect your moral principles of integrity and to treat everyone equally, which is especially important in the corporate setting.
Overall, I am glad that it worked out in the end even by sticking to protocol, reflecting the skill of empathy of both your superior, but the company’s ethics as a whole.
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Dear Ian,
I think your scenario was a very unique one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Personally I feel the way you handled it was professional and fair instead of acting out of line. It is understandable that unforeseen circumstances do arise from time to time but it is still important to follow the right channels and protocol. I admire your ability to act fairly and treat all with equality. The best part was that his request was granted with the proper authorization and turned out positively for both of you
Good article
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Interesting post Ian. The description can be more concise. Would you also want to weigh the pros and cons for the Chinese worker? How did you ascertain that he was telling the truth? what did you discuss with your superior? what was your reasoning that made the superior give the ‘go ahead’? It would be useful to present it in the ethical analysis.
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