I work a lot of overtime at my job with no compensation because my company just doesn’t pay OT and I’m not in a union. Please don’t suggest that I work fewer hours; it’s just not doable. Plus the pay is lousy, but that’s another story.
From time to time, I’ll take home a sheaf of printer paper or a box of pens for my kids, figuring that it’s one tiny way to make up for all the extra hours I put in. I mean, this is a profit-making company, not a charitable organization where I should be donating my time!
But the other day, my daughter, who is 14, said to me, “Dad, is it really okay for you to be taking this stuff from work? Does everybody do this?” I know the question was prompted by a discussion in her religion class at her Catholic high school about ethics. Now I feel like a creep!
I put her off by pretending to be too busy to answer her right then, but I do owe her an answer. More importantly, I need to examine whether what I’m doing is okay. What say you?
