John Monts http://www.rueziffra.com 2m 552
The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
Complaining on Facebook has become a normal part of our culture. When logging on to Facebook, people basically assume the risk that they will be reading one of their “friends’” sob stories for the day. But when these online rants trail into what happened that day at work, you may find yourself stumbling into job-threatening trouble.
Nearly everybody in the younger generation has a Facebook account, which means that anything that is said on the internet (in this case, Facebook) has some way of getting back to almost anybody. Which is why it is extremely important to keep anything you want contained to a certain friend group off of the internet. Here are a few times when complaining about your job on Facebook can cost you your paycheck.
Complaining About Coworkers
When you complain about your coworkers on Facebook, you are asking for trouble. Chances are, unless your coworkers are in an older age group, your coworker has a Facebook. And, if enough people are bothered by the things you decide to say and post on the internet, the very coworker you are complaining about will find a way back to your post. And you don’t want to have to deal with an enraged coworker telling your boss how you slandered them on the internet for all to see. Not only can that cost you your job, but it will burn several bridges that could have led to future opportunities.
Solution? If you are going to bad-mouth your colleagues, do it in the privacy of your own home. Or tell it to your cat. Or buy a punching bag. Essentially: find a better way to vent than via Facebook.
Making the Company Look Bad
The same goes for when what you say portrays your employer in a negative light. Employers don’t want to keep employees around that (a) don’t appreciate the job they have and (b) take the time to slander it on the internet. And, talking negatively about a company that has employed you makes the company look bad from the inside, which is something that no self-respecting company wants going on.
Making your boss or employer look bad on the internet isn’t just job-threatening, but it is also just plain irresponsible for your employment future. The thing is, if you aren’t enjoying the job you are working currently, you probably won’t want to work there for your whole life. In this case, you are going to want to make sure that your boss will give you a glowing recommendation wherever you choose to apply afterwards.
But, if you slander your boss on Facebook, you will face a pretty bad situation: you won’t have a job and you won’t have anybody to recommend you for your next job. Avoid the bad situation; instead of bad-mouthing your boss or company on Facebook, do your best at your job and do all you can to find a way out of there as soon as possible. It is the more productive and all-around more beneficial solution to a problem that can in no way be fixed by talking about it on the internet.
Provided by John Monts, creative writer for www.RueZiffra.com. John is currently a student at UC Davis, studying Political Science and Economics.
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