If you are in the legal profession, you know that people must lie at least five times for every six statements they make.
People lie every day. I've lied at least twice today, and it is only 3:00. If you are in the legal profession, you know that people must lie at least five times for every six statements they make. But what about truth bending in the office?
To philosophers Saint Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Immanuel Kant, one should be murdered or tortured rather than lie, even if it is the only way to protect oneself. Somehow I really don't think that's going to happen, especially if I'm only telling Sally that her skirt is adorable when it's really just plain ugly.
Yes, lying is bad, and yes, lying undermines trust in general in our society, and yes, it is a perversion of the natural faculty of speech to communicate the thoughts of the speaker.
But is lying at the office really all that bad?
Most people lie to cover up little mistakes or to explain why they are running late. These things aren't the end of the world, but in order to save professional face, we feel the need to lie about them. Attorneys are trained to sense this sort of thing, so try to avoid it.
According to a study conducted by University of Massachusetts psychologist Robert S. Feldman in June 2002, 60% of people lied at least once during a 10-minute conversation and told an average of two to three lies. The lies most often occurred when people wanted to seem approachable, easygoing, and intelligent. They felt as though whatever honest answer they could give would make them appear worse, regardless of the lie they told.
Studies also show we are more likely to bend the truth for a coworker than a stranger. It can be tough feeling like you are being judged by a crowd of people you see every day, especially successful attorneys. Strangers come and go, but Bob down the hall will be there tomorrow.
We lie to promote ourselves. It's a fact of life. We lie on our resumes, we lie to our coworkers, and we definitely lie during interviews with our bosses. The top lies at the office range from "I don't know what happened" when you know exactly what happened to "Your email must have been lost" (lost where exactly?) to the most frequent, "You look great!" Take a look around your office, and think back to the last time someone told you one of these things. Lawyers have the best poker faces and are natural lie detectors. My dad is a lawyer, and when I was growing up, it was practically impossible to get away with anything.
Little white lies such as "Great haircut" or "That shirt really brings out your eyes" can promote a happy work atmosphere when committed innocently to fill in awkward silent gaps, but don't let yourself be drawn into those slightly bigger gray lies like "You never told me to copy the Packson files." Attorneys aren't dumb. They will start to catch on if your car breaks down one too many times, and they'll remember every task they told you to do. Lying about professional subjects can lead to serious problems, including termination, so don't let your everyday chatter become a hazard to your job.
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