They say
“Other people do it too.”
Your response
“You’re right to ask whether the same standard applies to everyone. I’ll check that. I also need to understand what happened here and what you’ll do differently.”
First, check this
Are you applying the same standard across the team, or addressing the behavior only when this employee does it?
Why this works
Another person’s conduct does not remove this employee’s responsibility, but inconsistent enforcement is still a legitimate concern. The response commits the manager to checking the standard without discussing private action involving other employees. It also keeps the current behavior in view. This page is about selective enforcement across the group; ‘Why are you singling me out?’ is about the manager’s pattern of attention toward one person.
Don’t say
“What other people do is none of your business.”