Ethical Decision

When I was working as a Customer Service Rep in the Bank one of my responsibilities was to supervise the tellers. I was friends with two of the tellers working there at the time. We used to go out together outside of work and had great time. At some point I started noticing that they are being too friendly with each other and acting inappropriate for a professional environment. I decided to confront them and they confessed to me that they were dating. That is when I realized that I was faced with an ethical dilemma.

I had a choice to make : one of them was to look away, pretending I am not noticing anything and do nothing; second choice was to talk to them and try to explain that they can't continue behaving this way, and the third choice which is the right choice is to report them to my manager. I had to ponder for a while, and that's when I realized that my job was important to me and that I was their supervisor first and their friend second and I had to do something about this situation if I consider myself a professional. I felt that it would be fare if I would give them the benefit of the doubt and let them know how I feel and what situation that they are putting me. I was hoping they would start acting like adults. I was trying to resolve this situation at all costs without getting upper management involved and save them out of trouble. I tried to keep their and my own dignity.

One day, I pulled them aside and I confronted them about their behavior and told them that it needs to stop. They need to start acting professionally at work and if they chose to continue to date each other, they can do that outside of work.

After our lengthy conversation they became very distant and upset with me; however, I felt that I did the right thing at that time. Furthermore, they continued to act inappropriate and it was starting to be very noticeable no me and some of the customers, which were making comments. At that point I was left with no choice but to report them to my manager. When I talked to my manager I told her the whole situation including me talking to them prior to me coming to her and I got no result from that. I explained that I have been trying to resolve it on my own without involving her,