Getting fired at work for something I posted on facebook

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Hi everybody

I have a situation at work that I don’t quite understand, and I do not know what the appropriate response should be.

My employment history has been pretty good. I’ve never had a problem getting or keeping jobs, I’ve done a pretty good job at establishing myself as a subject matter expert in my field, and I’m high earning. With that being said, every job I’ve ever had, my coworkers have disliked me. I’m not asocial, I’m just socially awkward. It doesn’t matter how hard I try, or how good I am at following all the rules, I always manage to say something wrong, or something I’m not supposed to say. I’ve never able to fit in at work or anywhere else, and I’ve always been treated like an outsider.

The best way I’ve been able to manage this is to just keep everything 100% professional all the time. I never talk about anything with anybody that isn’t business related, and when I have to do small talk, I stick to the acceptable topics i.e. the weather, sports, dancing with the stars etc.

Anyway, I just got a new job as a Data Scientist for a local hospital. I’ve been here for almost 3 months which means I’m still in my probationary period.

Today my boss called me into his office to talk. Apparently one of my facebook friends was upset by one of my posts and decided to call my boss and complain to my employer. He wouldn’t tell me who it was, but I do not friend anybody from work so it had to be some random person I went to school with. This is the post that caused the controversy:

Anyway, so whoever I offended on facebook, decided to call up my place of employment to tell them how upset they were by my comments and how their perception of the hospital has changed forever, and how they are going to tell everybody they know how awful the people who work at my hospital are.

My boss agreed that my comments weren’t really bad, but said that he was disappointed, that I should have known better, and that I should have been more careful. He said that because we are a hospital, and because we deal with life & death type situations, it’s important to ensure that nobody ever has a reason to question our competence, compassion, or professionalism. He said that if I can’t maintain a professional image outside of work, then perhaps I’m not a good fit at this company.

I am so confused by what is going on. Why would one of my facebook friends do this? Why would somebody want to get me fired from my job just because I said something they didn’t like? I’ve never hurt anybody in my entire life. I get that people don’t want me around, and I try to stay out of peoples way as much as possible, so why aren’t people just content to just treat me like an outsider and ignore me? Why do they have to go out of their way to hurt me? Was what I said really that bad? Do I really deserve to lose my job, my income, my rent money, and my health insurance over a stupid facebook post? Is my facebook post really the issue, or is this just an excuse to get rid of me because I don’t fit in? Im so confused about what’s going on here.

I think this is crazy.

The whole world was sarcastically talking about that yesterday and its front page news in the UK red tops that the world didnt end!

No offence but your boss here gives me much reason to question his competence, compassion, or professionalism. I believe he needs better boundaries personally. I dont believe this post would get you thrown out of any professional body - lawyers accountancy etc. It is clearly sarcasm and a joke - but because it is out of character for you - someone is "offended".

Someone may have had an eye on the job or just want you out. Or they may just be jerks.

Basically it is jealousy from someone. Who do you know who may want a job like that who does not have one?

Last edited by answeraspergers on 21 Dec 2012, 8:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.

it's an excuse to get rid of you.

Hi morph; welcome to Wrong Planet.

What your Facebook "friend" did is deplorable. I don't know that any sense can be made of it; it's just bad.

Have you actually been fired or have you just been reprimanded?

That's terrible! I could understand it if you did post something truly bad or derogatory on your facebook, but that message is completely non-confrontational and for the most part unoffensive. Heck, even the major news outlets are somewhat mocking the apocalypse predictions lol. I think it's unethical what both your boss and your "friend" did. What's the world coming to these days?

Anyways my heart definitely goes out to you in this case, and I wish you all the best...I hope that you are able to get the situation resolved somehow.

You probably have a legal case. I would investigate that.

Certain forms of media communication cause people to act really stupidly.

Aim a TV camera at someone and half the time they act stupid or go "Hey watch this!"

In social networking, a person can respond to something like that post very quickly instead of actually thinking critically about their actions. I don't think they considered the consequences or that someone's job could be on the line. They gave it no more thought then any other dumb thing they post on their Wall.

You might consider just dropping Facebook. It seems like a liability. I don't know your social situation though or if you any benefit from it socially. If you do dump it consider moving professional contacts to something like LinkedIn.

I was going to mention that, but in the post it mentions that she was in a probationary period. Many companies now have periods like this, where you sign an agreement saying that for X amount of time after you're hired, they can fire you for any reason they want with no explanation and no liability. Basically, so they can test you out without making a full commital. Now if that isn't the case, then I'd say by all means consult a lawyer

Hmmm..... actually if you get fired you may raise this issue with Facebook. Social Networks want to continue growing and probably don't want to see their users treated this way as a consequence of using their service. It can tarnish the appeal of their service.

It's possible Facebook representatives would back you up. Maybe even with legal help.

Most of the USA has "At-Will Employment" laws so the employer can fire you with any or no reason at any time. You usually have no recourse unless you are under a contract that gives you some rights (rare) or were let go in violation of some law, such as whistle blowing or some form of discrimination including disabilities.

Some companies are getting bad in what you say or do "off the clock" and can fire you for stuff making them look bad with the extension of your acts doing the same. As per a previous thread, Progressive Insurance is notoriously bad for this. A few states have protections that you can't get fired for performing a legal act off the clock but that is hard to prove in court.

Another way of looking at it is that if your employer is going to get into a snit over something so minor, then it is not the place for you, especially as an Apsy, because we don't always behave in the most proper, professional manner all the time. We need a little more latitude.

I was almost fired at one time for visiting forbidden websites. It's not that I didn't know better... I just need the occasional comforting escape to familiar ground when things get stressful.

Anyway, you are probably better off working for an organization that allows a lot bit more self-expression.

Hmm. Tough situation.

I really don't see anything wrong with what you posted, and I am SO sorry you are going through this. Whoever called your boss about your posts was out of line and completely overstepped bounds.

However, since you don't know who called your boss about your posts, I would consider deactivating your Facebook for a while. I would also tell your boss that nothing is more important to you than representing the hospital, and you have deactivated your Facebook to address the situation. (Be careful how you say this- you don't want it to come across as you deactivated your Facebook because you would post "wrong" things if you didn't. You just want to be extra careful to protect yourself and the hospital.)

I do agree with your boss that everything you do outside of work does reflect on your job and your place of employment, even if it has nothing to do with work. For example, I'm a writer for my job. I also have a personal blog that has NOTHING to do with my job. However, I try very hard to have everything I post reflect my professional standards as a writer (professional, positive, engaging, no typos.) Anything I write reflects on whether or not I am good at my job. I proofread my Tweets and Facebook status updates for this reason. I don't want people to think "her tweet is spelled wrong- what kind of writer did this company hire?" I think the concern your boss may have about the post was that it talked about death in what seemed like a lighthearted manner. I don't think you did anything wrong or meant it that way- just trying to think about where the concern came from.

I'm on your side and I'm so sorry- just trying to provide another perspective.

You didn't really get fired, did you?

It does sound bizarre. I could understand it if it was something hateful or offensive, but that really isn't by any stretch of the imagination.

I guess the best option is to put this facebook friend on restricted so they can't see your updates.

I can neither understand why someone would get upset about that post or why they would call your boss at work about it or why your boss would even care. It's not like you made a post saying bad things about the hospital or were giving bad/wrong medical advice.

I have my Facebook with a fake name, only have one person on it that I don't know in real life, have it locked down as tight as I can to friends only, and despite that I'm still careful not to post personally identifying information on it. The more stories I read like this the more I know that's the right thing to do.

I haven’t been fired, but I’ve been through this enough times to know how this is going to play out. It seems to me that my boss is only making an issue out of this because he wants to get rid of me. I hate saying that because it makes me really paranoid and Blamey but I think it’s true. They will find a reason to get rid of me, or make me miserable until I leave.

I do really good work but, really people don’t care if you do good work. The only thing that matters is whether or not people like you, and I’m a hard person to like. I’m not bad or anything, I just don’t fit in, and this really bothers people for some reason…..Which is another thing I don’t understand.

Part of me wants to just shut down my facebook page. On the other hand, I know it sounds lame, but facebook is the only social interaction I get outside of work sometimes. I don’t want to deactivate it. I like facebook.

I could censor myself, but that’s pointless too. When you post something on the internet, you’re going to offend somebody no matter what. I could post, “I don’t like fried chicken”, on my facebook page and at least 1 of my 412 “friends” would think I was being racist.

Besides, I don’t think any of this is really about something I posted on facebook. This is about people not liking me, and being mean. There is just no way somebody was really that upset by me making fun of doomsday preppers.

I could take this to HR, but pretty freaking pointless as well. Going to HR would just make people hate me even more than they already do.

I just don’t understand how somebody could hate me enough to try and get me fired from my job. And, I don’t understand why my boss would take seriously.

I’m probably going to start looking for another job. I just hate that people are always trying to get rid of me. It just doesn’t seem fair.

Your next Facebook post should probably read, "BIG thank you to one of my FB 'friends' who called my employer and tried to have me fired over the joke I made yesterday."

Some f*****g friend.


And, yes, your employer is probably looking for any excuse to get rid of you... they don't seem to give a crap about good work, they want employees who pretend to work but all get along happy and friendly, pretending together like a cohesive acting troupe.