[yvan-eht-nioj]

Or, someone might also have a sense of karmic justice, whereby $0.02 is the same as $200 in the ethical context of returning a lost object to its owner.

The manager sounds like they'd be happy to steal your wages, as long as it was "only a small amount". You dodged a bullet there.

[kemayo]

I mean, from the perspective of the manager, you really don't want an employee who's going to run out of the store to return an amount of money that won't matter to the customer. One can understand a peculiar value system, and also think that the conclusions it reaches are bad for your situation. (See also: "it's okay to take money from the cash register if I need it".)

I also think that going from that question to them stealing your wages can only be fairly analogized if it's a similarly insignificant amount. Is it wage theft if they underpay me by $0.02? Yes. Does it really matter? Not to me.

[yvan-eht-nioj]

I suppose it depends if you believe in principle over pragmatism.

Personally, for me the amount is irrelevant; action and intent is what matters, so in some contexts $0.02 would absolutely matter to me.

[lmm]

If getting on with your job when a customer has left $0.02 on the counter would be such a severe violation of your principles, you're likely unsuitable for jobs.

[AndrewKemendo]

As someone who has hired 100+ people over the years, I’m choosing the principled person over the unprincipled one every single time

[lupire]

I hire people with reasonable principles. Understanding transaction costs and personal responsibility is a principle.

Rigid, extreme fundamentalists with over-simplified principles are not good employees.

[yvan-eht-nioj]

The question is hypothetical rather than practical, and in many roles (civil service, accountancy, law) demonstrated principles are a fundamental requirement.

The premise of the manager's hypothetical question was to determine whether someone is dishonest, which is flawed.

[johnnyanmac]

I mean, that's why the tests are BS. The real answer for 2 cents is maybe a quick "sir your change" but otherwise nothing. But some HR filters expect you to brown nose and act like you'll move heaven and earth to give maximum QoL to a McDonandls customer taking To-Go.

>Is it wage theft if they underpay me by $0.02? Yes. Does it really matter? Not to me.

well: being pedantic, 2 cents an hour done constantly adds up to $40 a year. If we're talking minimum wage, every dollar counts.

That's part of the issue, a lot of wage theft happens to those who need it the most. But they also tend to be the most exploitable.

[rendaw]

I'm guessing the only choices were "run after them" and "steal it"

[kemayo]

It's been quite a long time (like, 20 years), but I think the choices were something like "take it for yourself", "put it in the register", "leave it on the counter", and "chase the customer down".

[aaron695]

If that's your take you are not smart enough for the job. The workplace dodged a bullet.

No one cares about a persons 'sense of karmic justice' or things people make up in their heads to be clever, they are answering questions on a test.

If their IQ can't adapt to a simple question, how could they flip a burger? Their 'sense of karmic justice' or being clever might get in the way, and since they have no idea of reality they won't know what the job requires.

The pride people take in getting IQ tests wrong is quite perplexing.

Off Topic since answering basic questions is too hard for HN, but the "tripwire questions" are also/only? to open the employee to the idea of taking money, the next question might be taking $1 from the till.

Have you "thought about suicide" is to desensitize you to the real questions. If you think it's a dumb question then they have fooled you.

[yvan-eht-nioj]

The manager was using the question in an attempt to determine whether someone was a liar, not a quiz on workplace protocol.

A well-developed code of personal ethics might not matter in the context of burger-flipping, but jobs requiring a high IQ usually also require someone to have principles.

[yvan-eht-nioj]

“Is dishonesty OK if it financially benefits the company?”

How would a high IQ candidate answer this question?