I'm not arguing that anyone should be screwing anyone over. Taking revenge for the sake of revenge is a monumental waste of time and energy, and can lead to dis

I'm not arguing that anyone should be screwing anyone over. Taking revenge for the sake of revenge is a monumental waste of time and energy, and can lead to disastrous career and legal consequences. In the situation I outlined-- of a person being outsourced, and told to train his cheap-hire replacements before being let go-- the reason he does a poor job of training them is not revenge. It's not an emotional decision, but a rational one: he wants leverage for the negotiation of severance and references, e.g. "Sure, I'll train my replacement, in exchange for [X]." It's neither ethical nor unethical; just business the way it's been done for centuries.