Morals; stop and worry or go and ignore?
I like to think of myself as a pretty easy going guy. I try not to let things bother me and I always believe the glass is half full, generally no matter what the situation is.
Something has been niggling at me a little lately, though and it’s not sitting as easy with me as I’d expected.
I’ve recently found out that one of my clients has some…unsavoury press against them. It’s nothing particularly major (i.e., the board isn’t made up of hardcore KKK members), but they’ve garnered a reputation that isn’t all entirely positive.
Initially, I didn’t think anything of it. I write for them on a ghost-author basis and so although there’s a lot of different pieces of writing circulating that were created by me, none of them are linked to me in any way, shape or form.
This eased my mind for a few days, until I started thinking about my morals as a writer.
Just because I’m not linked to this company in the public eye, doesn’t mean that producing writing for them makes it right – the more work I produce, the more popular they become, the greater their reputation will be and if their history is anything to go by, the more customers they are likely to upset.
And although I may not be known as a writer who writes for them by the public, there are some writers who know I write for them. I’m sure they wouldn’t hold it against me, but I think that in some ways it might be a hindrance, such as for work referrals (this is me being at my most pessimistic now!).
Maybe I’m thinking too much into this – a gig’s a gig, right?
Plus, a lot of work I do in general is as a result of my work with them (affiliated companies, referrals, etc). If I stop writing for them, I’ll be risking losing several other regular projects.
I’m still writing for them at the moment and although I’m sat on the fence a little, I think I’m leaning towards continuing to write for them. However, I’d appreciate some comments from other writers who have been in the same – or a similar – position and what you did in the end.
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Article by Dan Smith
Dan Smith is freelance writer and small business consultant. Specialising in business development, he has a strong background in Search Engine Optimisation and has a distinct (dis)ability of not being able to say no.
Dan has written 81 awesome articles for us at Get Paid to Write Online
{ 16 comments }
At some point in any writer’s life, they will have to choose whether to continue with a project even if it may not be something they believe in or think is right or go for the money. In some cases, the money often wins out. Heck, you have to pay the bills right?
Other times, if money isn’t a problem and they can afford to go without, they’ll go for what’s morally right.
My advice to you in this specific situation is to do what you necessarily have to do. If you need the money (for bills, or whatever it might be), go for it. Keep writing for them. After all, no one can blame you.
However, if the moral aspect is constantly eating at your insides until you go mentally insane, tell them you can’t continue your services, or else say that your plate is pretty full right now and you can’t do additional work.
Do what you think is best for you. It’s not greedy if you need the money for personal use, especially if you need to feed your family. You did the work, didn’t you? You’re not just taking their money. However, if you need to clear your conscience, by all means, let go of this particular client and find someone else.
Really, the only one who can make this decision is you.
I hope I helped!
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In my comment below, I read everyone’s comments and then addressed them all in one reply.
However, I just need to say that what you said about putting food on the table is a great point to consider for anyone this, or a similar, situation.
With risk of sounding like a UK footballer, at the end of the day, you’re working for money so that you can support yourself and anyone else who relies on you.
Therefore, as long as the work you’re carrying out isn’t illegal, if you need the money, you need to think of it as work and nothing else.
Great point there, Christina.
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Thanks, Dan!
I totally agree with you. I especially like what you said here:
“Therefore, as long as the work you’re carrying out isn’t illegal, if you need the money, you need to think of it as work and nothing else.”
That’s really all it is – work. Though you need to consider the moral aspect as well, as long as the work you’re doing isn’t harming anyone else and is not illegal (I assume you wouldn’t even think about doing something of that nature!), it should be fine if you need the money.
Otherwise, let the client go gently.
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Dan, I’ve never found myself in this exact position, but if the company’s had bad press — and if it’s justified — how much influence are they going to have in the future? I’d also be wary of going against my own conscience for fear of wearing it down.
Is it ever wrong to do the right thing? You know the situation better than anyone. Best wishes on deciding on what that “right thing” is — and on setting your own boundaries.
This is a great topic. And as with many great topics, it’s also pretty subjective. In my experience, happiness is directly correlated with how close your actions reflect your values.
Like you said, it’s not like they are KKK so it’s not like you’re a bad person for contributing to their success. I would measure my decision by the gap between their values and mine.
Dan,
Several years ago, I owned a tiny percentage of a publishing company. The company started publishing books that went against my moral values. No one knew I owned those shares, and most people wouldn’t have blamed me for something I had no control over. But my conscience wouldn’t let me be part owner (no matter how small) of a company producing books that I found offensive (though many people have no moral issues with erotica). I returned my stock certificates and gave up my shares of the company because I didn’t want to be associated, even peripherally, with that kind of material.
Of course, I wasn’t giving up regular income in this situation, but I’ve walked away from work in previous businesses that cost me in the short run but kept my conscience clear. One marketing consultant that I hired for my interior landscaping company told me I was too honest to last in business. A few months later he was out of business, and ten years later I sold my company to a national corporation for a price that made me very happy.
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I would continue too. Think about it, who hasn’t got some skeleton in the closet. If you have to stop writing every time you find something shady on a company you’ll die of hunger.
I say unless they are involved with genocide or human trafficking all is fair play
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Christina, Cheryl, Marisa, Lillie and Ivin – I was planning on replying to each of you individually, but then I realised that you’re all basically offering the same advice!
After looking at the company again and their reputation, I think I’ll continue to write for them and simply keep an eye on their reputation over the coming weeks.
Looking into their negative press further, I think a lot of it is down to unsatisfied customers not getting exactly what they expected, rather than the company not delivering at all. So in that sense, their negative press could be open to debate.
I think what doesn’t sit comfortably with me is the fact that it’s actually making me think about it. I tend to go with my gut instinct a lot and usually I’ve got a pretty clear idea of whether I should or shouldn’t do something.
This, however, is playing havoc with my instinct and I’m not getting a particularly great feeling either way.
As I said, I think I’m going to keep on writing for them for the moment and just keep an eye on things – if it looks like their reputation has taken a turn for the worst, I’ll strongly consider jumping ship.
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Good plan!
If the company wasn’t delivering at all, I would probably say change clients. However, it sounds to me like they need better copy if customers are purchasing something different from what they thought it would be.
You might be able to help the company for the better and actually describe the products in a way that customers have no doubt about what they’re purchasing.
I could have it wrong entirely, but those are my thoughts.
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Twitter: danaprince
September 2, 2010 at 10:30
My morals are very important to me. I’ve had to ponder issues more than once in my writing career. I’ve had clients try to poach me from other clients or agencies and I’ve had offers from clients with less-than-ethical practises, too. Integrity is important to me and I’ve walked away from gigs because of it.
In terms of your situation…I think it comes down to how you feel about the negative press. If I think it’s warranted and someone is being ripped off, I won’t continue. If it’s something subjective, then it requires further consideration.
I write for a large resume company that has had some bad press but I know with something like a resume, it’s very difficult to please all the people all the time. I also know that the company offers unlimited revisions and has a good escalation policy for clients so in my opinion, they do all they can to make clients happy but of course with something like a resume, you’ll never have a 100% satisfaction rate unless you can guarantee people the job of their dreams —which you obviously cannot. I continue to write for them, doing my best and trying to provide the best service I can to people.
I do believe that who you surround yourself with directly impacts your success so if you believe it’s a good company who’s just had some unfortunate press, I’d continue.
But when it’s just a matter of the money, I’d start looking for a way to replace them as soon as possible. I’ve been in that situation and said goodbye to a well-paying but not-so-ethical client. When I did finally finish with them, things got better for me (and I was much more at ease!).
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That’s one of the reasons why I’m continuing to write for them, Dana – the negative press is, to a certain extent, subjective.
The company offers a service that doesn’t guarantee results, but like a resume company, people are always going to want, somewhat naively, a cast iron guarantee that when they hand over their money, they’re going to get the results they want – even if they’re impossible to deliver 100% of the time.
I bid through Elance some and I’ve walked away from any number of ‘jobs’ due to the moral implications: pretending to be the guy seeking dates on an online dating site, being a commenter making good reviews for a product I’ve never used, creating ‘personages’ to drive traffic to a blog… For me, the moral piece weighs heavy and I’m unwilling to contribute to the ‘bad’ stuff I see out there sometimes.
And, I get the bit about needing to earn a living. Each person will have to make their own decision about what’s important.
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If you’re looking at new projects that are a little unsavoury, I believe it’s easier to say no to them as you’re not involved with them on any level.
How would you feel if it turned out the work you were producing was being used for something that went against your morals? (I know it would be difficult to not know if you were producing, for instance, fake reviews for a certain product, but you could be writing a piece related to something that the product can resolve, which could be used as an advertising method).
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Generally I prefer to take the money and run. However, there are certain industries I may shy away from altogether, just to limit that queasy, unable-to-live-with-myself feeling. I’m rather conservative, so doing marketing for Planned Parenthood or the Ground Zero Mosque would be well beyond my scope. However, I would happily work with many other “non-conservative” organizations like GLAAD or ACLU or even UC Berkely. Sometimes you can easily draw a line like that.
Wendy
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My morals are extremely important to me period, let alone as a writer. That’s why it takes me 2-3 times as long to write keyword-targeted articles. Too much crap out there already, don’t want to add to it…
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Copywriters are powerful. History has been shaped by the power of the written word. Kings have paid writers through time to twist words in order to massacre people for profit. That sounds dramatic in this forum, but the bottom line is that words have power. What we write affects a whole chain of events.
How are your words ultimately affecting other people? If you feel like your words are justifying something, which is bad, then don’t do it–unless you are starving to death. If you feel like the company essentially has integrity and the bad press is unjustified, then keep writing for them. But we cannot ever get away from the fact that copywriters are powerful agents in shaping the world–even in the smallest ways. At some point a copywriter has to insist on making a career of representing what is worthy. Otherwise, there is no real authority in the writing. It is just more sell-out slavery.