PSEE Situational Judgment and Work Ethics 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You discover that a coworker has been submitting false overtime reports. What is the most appropriate action?
- Ignore it to avoid conflict
- Confront the coworker aggressively in front of others
- Report the issue to your supervisor or ethics office through proper channels (Correct answer)
- Tell other coworkers about it
Correct answer: Report the issue to your supervisor or ethics office through proper channels
Reporting through proper channels such as your supervisor or ethics office is the correct action, as it addresses misconduct while maintaining professionalism.
Question 2: A citizen approaches your desk and is visibly upset about a denied application. What is the best response?
- Tell them to leave and come back when they calm down
- Listen calmly, acknowledge their concern, and explain the process for appealing the decision (Correct answer)
- Simply repeat 'rules are rules' until they leave
- Immediately approve their application to avoid conflict
Correct answer: Listen calmly, acknowledge their concern, and explain the process for appealing the decision
Active listening, empathy, and clear communication about appeal processes are hallmarks of professional public service.
Question 3: Your supervisor asks you to complete a task you believe violates agency policy. What should you do?
- Complete the task without question to show loyalty
- Refuse the task and immediately go to the media
- Calmly express your concern to your supervisor and ask for clarification or written authorization (Correct answer)
- Complete the task but complain to coworkers afterward
Correct answer: Calmly express your concern to your supervisor and ask for clarification or written authorization
Raising concerns professionally through proper channels while seeking clarification protects both the employee and the organization.
Question 4: You have access to sensitive citizen data as part of your job. A friend asks you for information about a mutual acquaintance in the system. You should:
- Provide the information since it is just between friends
- Check if the acquaintance is a high-profile person first
- Decline and explain that accessing records without authorization violates privacy laws (Correct answer)
- Access the information but do not tell anyone
Correct answer: Decline and explain that accessing records without authorization violates privacy laws
Accessing government records for unauthorized personal purposes violates the Privacy Act and can result in criminal charges and termination.
Question 5: You are assigned more work than you can reasonably complete by the deadline. What is the best course of action?
- Submit incomplete work without notifying anyone
- Work overtime every day without telling your supervisor about the workload
- Inform your supervisor promptly about the workload and discuss priorities or additional resources (Correct answer)
- Delegate your work to coworkers without permission
Correct answer: Inform your supervisor promptly about the workload and discuss priorities or additional resources
Proactively communicating workload issues to supervisors allows for proper prioritization and resource allocation before deadlines are missed.
Question 6: A citizen asks you a question about a government benefit you are not familiar with. What should you do?
- Make up an answer that sounds reasonable
- Tell the citizen to figure it out themselves
- Acknowledge that you don't have the exact answer but will find the correct information or direct them to the right office (Correct answer)
- Refuse to help since it is not your area
Correct answer: Acknowledge that you don't have the exact answer but will find the correct information or direct them to the right office
Honesty about uncertainty combined with a commitment to finding the correct answer or appropriate referral reflects professional public service standards.
PSEE Situational Judgment and Work Ethics 1
You discover that a coworker has been submitting false overtime reports.
What is the most appropriate action?