Taking an oath does not mean a whole lot to a whole lot of people. I recently returned from a federal arbitration in the Midwest and was simply blown away by the testimony that I heard from witnesses under oath and on the stand. Several federal employees (both in and out of management positions) got sworn in as witnesses and gave testimony to the purported events that led to the arbitration.
Half of the witnesses looked the arbitrator right in the eye and swore that a specific conversation definitely took place, that they were there, and that specific details were discussed. The other half of the witnesses looked the arbitrator right in the eye and swore that such a conversation never took place and they were sure of it.
Obviously, someone was lying. The fact that people lie should not be surprising to anyone.
Unfortunately, we are all not 100% truthful all of the time. Did you ever answer the phone and say that your boss is “in an important meeting” while in fact she is right in front of you, waving her hands in the air indicating that she does not want to talk with that caller? How about telling your child that you cannot go to a specific event because your schedule is “already full” while the truth is that you are really just not interested in going to see Barney and Friends on Ice for the third time.
Sure, I could understand those little white lies – but this is a horse of a different color. This is actual testimony at a trial, arbitration or at a hearing before a Judge or Arbitrator. Unlike your five year old daughter, this Judge made you raise your right hand and swear (or affirm) that what you were going to say was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Your statement may have a serious impact on someone’s career or life. Stated differently, its perjury and people have gone to jail for lying under oath.
How could someone have the heart (or guts) to just lie like that?
I think the answer is that the oath or swearing on a bible is just not scary or real to people anymore. Management (or any witness for that matter) does not truly believe that if they lie on a bible, that Abraham is going to jump out of the bible during next week’s sermon at Church, Synagogue, Mosque etc., and proceed to throw sand at her or have his goat herd trample your front lawn.
So here’s my idea: before anyone takes an oath, they have to list the three things that are really important to them (not including family members). For example, before Ms. Jones testifies in next week’s EEO case, she has to tell the Judge that the most important things in her life are her Macy’s credit card, her new Louis Vuitton hand bag, and her three year lease on her BMW (for Mr. Jones, it may be his season tickets to the Green Bay Packers, his new IPOD touch, and his really old baseball card collection). Now, when Ms. Jones is testifying at the hearing, you can be sure that she is going to take her oath seriously. Why? Because if she is later found to be lying, the opposing party gets to pick and keep one of the things she listed. And that is something that Ms. Jones truly is not willing to put on the line.
While I know this will never happen, it may not be a bad idea.
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