Would you work for a tobacco company? The ethics of choosing an employer

Would you work for a tobacco company? A gambling giant? A payday lender?

Is it ok to do work for any organisation?

Would you offer your time, effort and intelligence – whether as an employee or a consultant – to any kind or organisation, involved in any kind of work?

At 23, fresh out of university and embarrassingly underdeveloped, I wouldn’t have given this much thought. At 44, I think about it a lot.

Like most things that matter, the answers aren’t black and white (inconveniently 🙄).

Personally, I wouldn’t work with organisations that sell tobacco, gambling or payday loan products (amongst others). The harm they appear to cause – especially to vulnerable people – is too great for me, whatever benefits they might provide.

But would I change my mind if a tobacco company wanted strategic planning advice, because management planned to exit the industry and reinvent itself? If I believed them, I probably would.

What about alcohol? It causes more overall harm than tobacco. So logically, I should say no. But… I drink alcohol. And would I feel differently about helping industrial brewers vs local craft brewers? I think I would. But why?

Medicinal marijuana? No issues for me. Recreational marijuana? That doesn’t feel so bad either. But now it’s getting pretty grey.

The more I’ve thought about it, the more apparent it is that there are no bright white lines that separate all the ‘good’ choices from the ‘bad’ ones.

And it’s become more obvious that my positions aren’t as internally consistent as I’d like them to be (e.g. the inconsistencies in how I feel about alcohol vs tobacco and recreational marijuana vs tobacco). I evidently lean towards exceptions based on familiarity, personal habits and cultural norms. Is that ok? Am I a hypocrite? I don’t know 🤷‍♂️.

And so far, I’ve only looked at industries. What about individual organisations? A company in a ‘good’ industry can still have toxic values.

It’s complicated. And there are few clear answers. And my answers won’t be the same as yours.

But that’s not an excuse to ignore the question.

The work we do matters. Who we choose to work for matters. It shapes us. And it shapes the world around us.

What about the organisation you’re working for now:

Is it aligned with the kind of person you want to be?
And the kind of world you want to live in?
Does it deliver a net good to society?
Do its true values – the ones in action, not the ones on the faded wall poster – resonate with you?

If so, great. If not, no problem. A mismatch between our values and our work is common, but noticing it is the first step to change. Whether that’s leading change from the inside or considering where else you might take your talents.

Thinking about this isn’t easy. But it’s the kind of question that shapes who we are.

Because, as Socrates put it more than 2,000 years ago: “the unexamined life is not worth living”.

How about you? What’s one industry or company you’d never work for, and why?

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