Professions
You worked many years in a profession. You know many people who also work in the same profession as a primary means of employment. Suddenly you are faced with a colleague who happens to be your boss and you are told to do something that is unethical. Not only is that request unethical, it is illegal and you could end up in jail and/or expelled from your primary means of earning a living for doing what you are asked to do.
Is your boss seeking to blame you for such behavior in the event that such illegal activity is discovered? Is it a test of your loyalty to your employer? You may now find yourself in a "No win situation." A job might last for only a short time but your career can last for as long as you practice your particular profession until the day that you retire from the workforce. Businesses come and go. People are born and then they die.
It is a matter of pride and credibility, in regard to the fact that you obey the moral and ethical rules that are a part of the practice of your particular profession. You may get fired by that employer because you refuse to violate one or more of those rules. However, when you look for another job you will not have a stain on your work history that basically tells every prospective employer that you will do anything to keep a job, even if you have to go to jail afterwards.
"Honesty is the best policy," as that old saying goes. Your employer trusts you to do the right thing and that is why you are considered to be a professional person, rather than a person who is merely a worker for "The Establishment." Employers do not trust dishonest people, nor do honest people who rely upon you to do the right thing on their behalf.
It is sad but true that "White Collar Crime" seems to be a common occurrence in the "World of Business." The desire to make the most money within the shortest period of time is the criminal's primary concern. As such, tens of thousands of people are made victims of such behavior each year, including those professional people who get fired because they refuse to indulge in unethical and/or illegal practices that violate their own moral standards.
