How Honest Are You?

The subject of honesty was posed to me on two separate occasions this weekend.   My husband had some money coming his way that I went to pick up on my way to a meeting.  I called him to tell him the amount, to which he thought was more than he expected.  It turned out to be quite a bit over, so he called to let them know of the error.  He contacted his boss to verify and it turned out he forgot to deduct the advance.  For me, I was at an event where recognitions were being announced.  One of the organizers thought I was missed in the recognition for a prize, and I told them I didn’t meet the qualifications.

This got me thinking…how honest are you?  If you knew an advance on your wages weren’t deducted, you didn’t qualify for a prize, etc., would you fess up or keep it to yourself?  In both instances with my husband and me, we could have looked the other way and kept quiet about it.  However, we both knew that wouldn’t be the right thing and the fallout would backfire.  I knew I couldn’t claim a prize I didn’t earn because my credibility would be at stake, my fellow partners wouldn’t trust me and personally, I would feel really guilty about the whole thing.

But that’s me.

What would you do?  Have you ever been in such situations?  Would you be honest or would you “take the money and run?”  Would you be okay with the deception, is it no big deal or would you feel guilty?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.  Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts.