6/10/14
MAR 3000
Dr. Davis
YouTube: The Office, Ethics
Author: Erika Leppla
Date: October 26, 2011
This YouTube video demonstrates unethical moments in the workplace played by
characters from a sitcom called The Office. There are a couple of skits showing employees
that are working in an office, but they have expressed unethical behaviors that are
prohibited in the workplace. The first example is time theft; the skit shows a man talking
about being on YouTube while at work. He explains that he was not able to get any work
done because of it. Shortly after, the video explains that time theft is a very serious matter
and that an employee should understand their work’s policies and guidelines.
Another unethical behavior explained was conflict of interest. This skit shows a whole
floor in an office building playing Call of Duty instead of doing their job. It explains that
these types of activities could create an appearance that someone’s thoughts or actions are
being compromised for the worse of the company.
The next skit presented safety in the workplace. It showed an employee retrieving all of his
hidden weapons from different areas in the office. His motto was, “It’s better to be hurt by
someone you know accidentally than to be hurt by a stranger on purpose.” This statement
is assurance that having weapons within the workplace can be dangerous; the video
reassures us that weapons pose a serious threat to workers and their welfare.
