A colleague told me that she is getting married and moving away in a few months’ time but I am privy to information that this colleague is being tapped for an important assignment that she is sure to abandon halfway due to matrimony. The colleague has not informed her line manager about her impending nuptial and eventual resignation. Should I inform her manager and be the bad guy, since this will directly affect the important project?

If you are privy to information which has been shared by this lady in confidence, it will be unfair to talk about this. I can fully understand the dilemma that you are facing – organizational loyalty vs. breach of confidence between two colleagues. You may consider talking to this colleague and counsel her to disclose her personal plans with her manager and not take-up the new assignment.

Vivek is a Senior HR professional with over 35 years of experience, ranging several leadership positions, in India and abroad. He leads his consulting practice since 2003 and presently works as a Strategic HR Advisor to Reliance Industries, and is also an independent Director on the Board of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. Prior to this, he was based in Singapore for several years where he was Director HR - Operations at Hewlett Packard for the Asia Pacific Region. Allow Vivek to clear your career & professional dilemmas by writing to us at ask@peoplematters.in