Workplace Ethics: Navigating Sales Pressure and Moral Dilemmas

Introduction: Facing an Unfamiliar Sales Environment

While working at a jewelry company, I was asked to meet certain sales goals. I was new and unfamiliar with the practices of the other salespeople and did not know how to approach the assigned target. The goal was set high — comparable to those given to more seasoned employees. I was concerned about being dismissed for insufficient sales while also lacking the techniques and charisma that the longer-tenured salespeople had developed over time.

During one of our weekly meetings, I asked the manager whether he could lower my goal so that I might have a realistic chance of meeting it while also giving me more time to grow accustomed to pitching and selling to customers. The manager was initially resistant but agreed to set a slightly lower target. He added, however, that if I failed to reach even that reduced goal, he might have to replace me altogether. According to Mary Gentile's framework in Giving Voice to Values, identifying what is within one's control and taking action accordingly is central to ethical workplace behavior — a principle I would come to understand through direct experience.

I accepted the new goal and began working toward it. What I did not anticipate was the additional obstacle that would arise from within my own team.

Competing With Sharks: Stress and Adaptation in Jewelry Sales

The problem that emerged came from competition with the other salespeople in the store. My coworkers were, in the most direct sense, sharks. If I was attending to a customer — stepping away briefly to clean a piece of jewelry or process a transaction — some of them would approach my customer, offer additional services, and effectively insert themselves into my sale. This not only reduced my numbers but also forced me to work significantly harder just to keep pace with my reduced goal.

The experience generated considerable stress. If I wanted to meet my target, I felt compelled to mirror the behavior of the other salespeople — to compete aggressively, speak up assertively when they attempted to take my customers, and sometimes pursue theirs. This conflicted deeply with my values. I am not a competitive person by nature, and I place a strong emphasis on fairness. Having to engage in that kind of daily competition took a real toll on my well-being.

The stress eventually reached a point where I felt I had no choice but to raise my concerns again. At the next weekly meeting, I addressed the situation with my manager directly, explaining how the behavior of certain coworkers was affecting both my sales numbers and my health.

Manager Guidance and the Power of Customer Loyalty

My manager listened to my concerns and responded with candor. He explained that this is simply how sales works and that sometimes one must become a "shark" in order to survive in such a role. Rather than leaving me with only that uncomfortable reality, however, he offered concrete advice. He suggested I focus on building genuine personal connections with customers — connections strong enough that even if a coworker attempted to intervene, the customer would remain loyal to me. He also recommended that I improve my overall sales technique, encourage customers to fill out store credit applications, and suggest complementary purchases that would bring them back as repeat buyers.

Customer loyalty, he emphasized, is the most effective defense against other salespeople moving in on your sales. It shifts the dynamic from reactive competition to proactive relationship-building.

I took his advice seriously. I began making personalized business cards with my name and contact information so that customers could reach me directly when they were ready to make another purchase. As I built rapport with my regulars, they returned and asked for me by name. The competitive atmosphere in the store did not disappear, but it became far less damaging to my performance and far less damaging to my peace of mind. I was meeting my sales goal and earning a positive reputation with my manager.

Ethical Silence: Selling Refurbished Electronics as New

The second workplace situation I encountered involved a different kind of ethical challenge. I worked at a computer store where the owner sold refurbished items as if they were factory new. Technically, the items had been restored to operating standards, but it was ethically questionable to present them to customers at new-item prices without disclosure. I was aware of the inventory's actual condition and had to decide how to respond.

In this instance, I chose to remain silent. Several factors informed that decision. First, customers had the option to purchase equipment protection plans that would cover repairs should anything go wrong. Second, the return rate was lower than I had anticipated, which reduced the guilt I associated with the situation. Third, I recognized that retail markup is a common and widely accepted practice — customers regularly pay full price without objecting. What the owner was doing, while ethically imperfect, was not entirely unusual in the broader context of retail business.

Since I do believe in honesty and fairness, the situation did bother me to some degree. Ideally, I would have briefly explained to the owner why I felt his practice of selling refurbished items as new was unfair to customers. In practice, however, I judged that raising the concern was unnecessary given the absence of evident harm to buyers and would likely have resulted either in dismissal or in a persistently uncomfortable work environment.

The owner was also a person under genuine financial pressure. He was running a small business during a difficult economic period, and the store's income was his sole means of livelihood. That context made the situation more sensitive to approach. A wealthier business owner who could more easily absorb financial losses might have been more receptive to hearing a concern about pricing ethics. This person was not in that position, and that reality shaped my judgment about what to say and when.