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Prof. David Shulman shares insights about workplace culture with Fast Company
David Shulman, professor of sociology and author of From Hire to Liar: The Role of Deception in the Workplace, was recently quoted in a story in Fast Company about employees who share falsehoods at work.
The story reported on a recent study that revealed 60 percent of those surveyed admitted to not being fully truthful, using lies such as “I’m sick” and “I already have plans after work.”
Shulman shared that lying often can be the result of inflexible workplace culture.
“Lying is a tool people can use when they don’t have the power otherwise to fix a situation to their liking,” he said. “People lie because lies can work, when abiding by normal rules or etiquette fall short in getting a person what they want. That could be why more-dissatisfied people lie.”
Shulman also shared that employers are often guilty of bending the truth as well.