Karma Cleanser - February 23 2005

Dear Karma Cleanser:??
I’ve got a good question for you. I was working at a summer camp run by a nonprofit group (which I won’t name) a long while back. One night, one of the other employees asked me to lock up the day’s receipts from the cash register he was in charge of. I hid the bank bag in a secure place and several days later realized that no one had ever arrived to take the money. The person who asked me to hide the money had left for the summer.

I waited a few more days, then decided that the money was never going to be missed. So I found the bag and used the cash for a weekend trip with my then-boyfriend. I felt OK about doing so because I knew this nonprofit group has a strict policy against hiring gay people. I thought it served them right for some of their funds to go toward a weekend romp with two gay boys in love.

My question: Should I worry about bad karma from that incident, or did it all balance out due to the group’s policy of discrimination?

The larceny angle might have worked for Robin Hood, but not for Robbin’ Homo. Disagreeing with a particular group’s politics doesn’t justify stealing from it. Make your statement instead by refusing to work for any agency that you see as discriminatory, or better yet, use your position to change things from within.

Dear Karma Cleanser:

I recently found out that two of my employees have been carrying?on a “secret” relationship. They kept the fact that they were dating?from me for months because they thought that I would not approve. One?of the people reports to me directly; it’s a small business and?everyone knows everyone else. There’s no formal policy in our?workplace saying that co-workers can’t date, so this was more of a?personal issue than a worry about anyone getting fired.

Now I feel like I’ve been a bad person or not a good boss because of?they way these people perceived me. Is my karma screwed? What can I do?to make it up to these two to show them that I’m not the witch they?seem to think I am??
-- Now I’m Nervous

A workplace romance is a tricky proposition in any?circumstance, and your employees were probably prudent to keep their?budding relationship on the DL for a while. There may be no stated?repercussions for inner-office flirtations spelled out in the company?handbook, but the problems often arise in how other folks view the?affair. Maybe their reluctance to share the news with you should make?you question if you have a tendency toward judgment that only others?can see. Make it up to them by attempting to normalize the situation –?and by not changing your stance even if the relationship ends.

Been bad? karmacleanser@gmail.com.