8 Ways to Get Fired Because of Social Media
A step-by-step guide
By Rachel Farrell, Special to CareerBuilder
We hear about it all the time: employees calling in sick and getting caught surfing Facebook. Employees bashing their employers and clients, or declaring their job search via their Twitter account. Workers posting inappropriate pictures and videos to YouTube, reflecting poorly on the company.
Social media faux pas happen every day, but people are starting to take them more seriously -- especially employers. So far this year, 21 percent of companies with more than 1,000 workers have disciplined employees for violating social networking policies, compared with 13 percent in 2008, according to a survey by Proofpoint Inc., an e-mail security company. About 9 percent have fired an employee for these violations, more than double the 4 percent two years ago.
Remember back in April 2009 when two Domino's Pizza employees posted a video on YouTube that showed one employee filming another sticking cheese inside his nose and passing gas on the food -- implying it would be delivered to customers from the store?
Well, that's one way to get fired via social media.
While we hope you would be smarter than that, one can never be too sure. So, to help drill home what not to do on your social media account, pay attention to these prime examples of how to get fired because of social media (in no particular order).
No. 1: Post off-color remarks
Matthew Azzano, an employee at the Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility in Highland Hills, Ohio, was fired when it became known that he was posting threatening and racial comments on his Facebook page. He was fired for discrimination and failure to follow policies.
No. 2: Post confidential details
In 2008 in the U.K., a juror was dismissed when she posted details of the trial on her Facebook page. "I don't know which way to go, so I'm holding a poll," she wrote.
No. 3: Badmouth your clients
Ashley Johnson, a former pizza waitress in North Carolina, was fired for complaining about customers on her Facebook page. "Thanks for eating at Brixx," she wrote, before using profanity and calling the customers, who were not identified in the post, "cheap."
No. 4: Disrespect your employer
Seven employees at Farm Boy, a Canadian grocery store, were fired after they started a Facebook group called "I Got Farm Boy'd." The group featured a picture of the company's logo surrounded by a red circle with a slash through the center and made derogatory comments about the store and its customers.
No. 5: Post inappropriate photos
A former high school teacher in Georgia was forced to resign when her principal questioned her Facebook page, which included an expletive and photos of her holding wine and beer.
No. 6: Create animated videos of your co-workers
A firefighter and paramedic in South Carolina was fired after he posted on Facebook an animated video that he created, depicting a doctor and a paramedic, and that was deemed "derogatory."
No. 7: Talk trash about your boss
A young woman in the United Kingdom was fired in August 2009 after posting on her Facebook page, "OMG I HATE MY JOB!! My boss is a total pervvy (sic) w**ker, always making me do s**t stuff just to p**s me off!! W**ker!"
The boss responded with a few comments of his own, ending with, "And lastly, you also seem to have forgotten that you have two weeks left on your six-month trial period. Don't bother coming in tomorrow. I'll pop your P45 in the post and you can come in whenever you like to pick up any stuff you've left here. And yes, I'm serious."
No. 8: Play hooky -- and then post about it
A Swiss insurance worker called in sick, telling her employer that she could not sit in front of a computer and needed to lie in the dark. The gig was up, however, when a colleague saw that she was active on Facebook. Her employer said her dismissal was more about abuse of trust than her Facebook activity.Rachel Farrell researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder.com. Follow @CBForJobSeekers on Twitter.
Copyright 2010 CareerBuilder.com.
Follow UsKeep up with all the latest CareerRookie news on Facebook, Twitter, or using our RSS feed 
CareerRookie on Facebook
CareerRookie Magazine
In this issue:
|