Thanks to Five Points Holistic Health for their 5-star review on my Google Business Page. Five Points is a worker-owned health clinic in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. This is my 20th five start rating out of 20 ratings!
Watch Out: Your Fellow Americans May Be Trying to Get You Fired
When anything you say or do in public could be snapped on camera or recorded, it pays to be on your best behavior. Otherwise, your job could be in jeopardy.
After Charlie Kirk was killed by a sniper on a Utah college campus, Americans did what they always do these days after a galvanizing event occurs: they flooded social media to share their thoughts.
“Charlie Kirk died the same way he lived: bringing out the worst in people,” an Oklahoma teacher posted.
What happened next is a cautionary tale of our times. The State Department of Education immediately launched an investigation of that middle school teacher for what the state superintendent called “disgraceful rhetoric.” In fact, in the aftermath of Kirk’s shooting, 33 people were either fired or investigated for their social media posts, according to an NPR tally.
In an age of polarized politics, amateur “gotcha” journalism and video-recording phones, workers face a new threat to job security. What they do and say anywhere can, and sometimes will, be held against them. Workers in previous generations didn’t necessarily have to focus so intently on their behavior outside the office because their actions weren’t likely to be caught on camera and broadcast widely.
Nowadays, however, almost everyone is carrying a smart device and has access to social media, so it’s anyone’s guess who’s recording you or taking your picture. Things you say or do — even if you think no one’s around — could go viral in minutes, especially with people looking for offensive behavior by others that they can post online and possibly monetize.
“Everyone with a phone now is a producer,” said Tom Spiggle, founder of The Spiggle Law Firm, who focuses on employment law. “Even what you’d consider private conversations can be recorded and, in many cases, can be used in a perfectly legal way against you.”
Changing tidesUntil relatively recently, most employers weren’t in a hurry to take action against employees for boorish behavior outside the office, unless it was exceedingly egregious. But now the balance has shifted, especially as social media use has proliferated, according to Spiggle.
“If what you’ve said ends up in the spotlight on social media, it’s hard for employers to turn a blind eye,” Spiggle said.
In one well-known example, a white dog walker in Central Park was fired after a video of a confrontation between her and a Black birdwatcher went viral.
“Assume everything is recorded and being watched,” said Joshua Hart, who heads a Texas-based conflict management consulting firm. That’s the advice he gives clients.
No hiding behind the First AmendmentMany people think the First Amendment entitles them to say or act however they want, but the Constitution doesn’t prevent private employers from disciplining or firing an employee for going against company policies.
If you become a bigger distraction than a benefit, you’re at risk of being let go, Hart said. Many companies he works with include clauses in their contracts or policy guidebooks, allowing them latitude if an employee does or posts something that causes backlash for the company.
As people become much more verbal online, “there’s no one there judging you in the moment,” but there can be aftershocks and real-world consequences, Hart said.
People have been fired for comments they made publicly about the war in Gaza, for example, and after being spotted on video participating in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Be cautious about social media useEven if you post your views to a group of friends — and you think the communication is private — you have no control over that information once it’s online, said Sara Jodka, a member at law firm Dickinson Wright.
Someone can screenshot and repost that content somewhere else. Co-workers in your social network can report the post to your employer, or someone in the public may be so offended that they go to great lengths to find and report you, said Jodka, who focuses on labor and employment matters.
That means the accuser who gets you in trouble may not even live in the same town or state. After Kirk’s murder, a right-wing influencer instructed followers to “reverse image search” profile pictures of people putting up distasteful content and “cross-reference it with their LinkedIn profile” to find a place of business for lodging complaints, according to NPR.
Employees of private companies need to be especially careful about weighing in on public issues being debated, Jodka said. A manager of a Fortune 500 company who makes derogatory statements around nationality or immigration could upset people on the team who are immigrants or children of immigrants.
“How can they possibly trust their manager or think any employment decision is being made based on performance and not because they are a minority?” Jodka said.
It behooves employees to be on their best behavior. You don’t have to keep your nose to the ground and try to be anonymous, but you do have to behave sensibly, said Charles A. Krugel, a labor and employment attorney in Chicago.
People should always try to consider how their words or actions could be perceived by their company, he said. “Most companies don’t want to see any employees in the news for bad stuff.”
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