Many companies have relaxed their social media policies in recent years. For one, more companies want their workers to be active on social media, and it may even be part of their job description. Some studies have even found that employees who use social media outperform those who don’t and come up with more innovative ideas.
But sometimes employee social media usage gets out of hand—whether they’re using it at home or from their work computer. These situations can put companies in a prickly position, as they are forced to decide whether the social media blunder is severe enough to warrant termination.
Here’s a look at common reasons people get fired for their social media usage along with real-life examples:
1. Badmouthing customers
A common reason employees’ social media usage gets them fired is they made a disparaging remark about a customer. That’s how Tamlynn Yoder got herself canned from an Outback Steakhouse in Florida in 2018, according to The Daily Meal. Venting about not getting a tip on a large order placed by a church group, Yoder wrote on her personal Facebook page that she made only $18 in tips that day because she spent nearly the entire shift preparing the large food order.
A friend of Yoder’s reached out to the church group about the post. The church group then contacted the restaurant to try to get a tip to Yoder. Instead, she was fired. Yoder’s post on Facebook was against Outback’s policy on posting about customers on social media.
2. Making distasteful or derogatory comments
It’s not just employees that get in trouble; sometimes executives get in trouble, too.
Mary Bono, the interim CEO of USA Gymnastics, resigned after five days on the job. Bono faced backlash after an old tweet was discovered that was critical of Nike’s endorsement deal with Colin Kaepernick. The tweet showed Bono blacking out the Nike logo on her shoes.
As the backlash grew, Bono tweeted: “I regret the post and respect everyone’s views & fundamental right to express them. This doesn’t reflect how I will approach my position (at USA Gymnastics). I will do everything I can to help build, w/ the community, an open, safe & positive environment.”USA Gymnastics accepted Bono’s resignation and issued a statement, saying “we believe this is in the best interest of the organization.”
3. Disclosing sensitive, inappropriate information
Since nearly everyone carries around a camera on their smartphones these days, photographs are getting employees in more and more trouble.
An employee of an assisted living home in Alpena, Michigan, , was fired in 2017 after taking a photo of an 81-year-old resident with Alzheimer’s disease. The photo was posted on Snapchat, according to a ProPublica investigation. The photo was taken without the resident’s permission and violated the facility’s policies and procedures.
The facility’s handbook prohibited any photography of home residents. But the employee clearly took it a step further by posting a distasteful photo of a resident on her social media account without permission to do so.
4. Inciting or celebrating violence
How someone reacts to current events or news, especially if those reactions are seen as insensitive or celebrating violence and illegal activity, can lead to trouble. A Utah Transit Authority employee was fired in July 2018 after he was caught on video berating a group of women on a train, according to a local Fox affiliate.
“These are not the kind of encounters we ever want to see happen on our trains, or our buses, or any of our vehicles,” a spokeswoman told the Fox affiliate.
All these situations might be good reasons for companies to think about creating a social media policy, if they don’t have one already. Employees should be responsible for reading, understanding and signing the policy to ensure that they know the rules, and to give the company more legal protection in case an employee abuses them.
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View Comments (42)
The easiest way to avoid the above issues is very simple. Don’t Post. To many people feel there lives are so unique and need to share every second of the day with anyone and everyone and make their life decisions based upon the “like” symbol.
Younger folks need to remember that if you think it, only you will ever know…but if you post it, you are putting yourself on a pedestal asking for scrutiny.
In addition to the reply by Wilson Collins, three thoughts to live by: (1) Don't put anything in writing you don't want the whole world to see. (2) Never argue with a fool: witnesses, if any, may not appreciate the difference. (3) Common courtesy rarely hurts or offends anyone.
Free speech means you may say anything you want. It doesn't mean there are no consequences. One should think before one speaks (or writes). There is no need to chronicle one's life. It attracts more critics than fans.
James Damore did NOT say that women were unfit to be engineers. He SAID that fewer women will WANT to be engineers due to differences in personality. He posted his memo, not on social media, but on a Google-encouraged feedback forum.
In all honesty, it is critical that we are careful about what we say and do to others. Today it is so easy to expose almost anything. We should be able to express our opinion because of our rights to freedom of speech. Sometimes jobs or work can really become overbearing and speak out on Facebook just may be a way of venting our aggression but unfortunately, social media just takes everything and makes things look ugly and nasty. Be Careful!
The "political correctness" bullying does not just apply to the Bono example. The author of this article, as have many others, unfairly smears James Damore by claiming that he said 'women were unfit to be engineers'. I read his entire post back in the day and he says nothing close to that. It's a lazy and/or dishonest mischaracterization. However, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with his admittedly controversial opinions, it is that very slanted and oversimplified interpretation that got him fired, not his actual argument. So called "woke" and "enlightened" social media activists are either too ideologically blinded or too ignorant to appreciate nuance and fairly acknowledge the real science that overwhelmingly concludes that female and male brains are wired differently (not better or worse), and they are too mean to just agree to disagree without ruining someone's career.
Freedom of speech doesn't guarantee you a job. You can say whatever you want to whomever you want and you can post whatever you want. BUT poor judgment and bad choices do have repercussions.
I think that the only restrictions should be on social media platforms that do not allow you to restrict your audience ie; twitter. If someone is handing their personal faceboook page responsibly, then they should be set as private. They should also be aware of accepting friend requests from people that are business relationships only. Or we have a disclosure statement that the views expressed are of a free thinking individual and not that of a collective involving the place of employment.
2 words....Bravo, Ben! I'm done! (oops, that's 10 words and 3 numbers.)