Messaging That Can Get You Fired

Today’s many communication mediums have led to several lawsuits regarding workplace harassment and termination. Though it’s common for employees to joke around with their friends in the office, it is important to understand that it’s a whole new ball game with different consequences once you take inappropriate behavior online.

While there is no set of federal rules or regulations regarding the specifics of what messages can be sent back and forth at work, many companies have similar clauses placed in their handbooks and worker contracts.

The next time you’re considering firing off an email or text message that you wouldn’t repeat aloud, you may want to stop and take a second to think about what could happen before you actually send it.

Texting

“Textual harassment” often occurs in settings such as school or work, as the remote technology makes it easy for people to send inappropriate messages to each other at any time. While this may not necessarily lead to an immediate action, it may be against the law due to the nature of harassment.

More and more employment lawsuits feature hard evidence in the form of texts that show the beginning and progression of harassment or discrimination.

People often operate under the delusion that their texts can’t be traced, and are thus harmless. This couldn’t be further from the truth. What often turns into a “he said, she said” problem in other harassment cases isn’t as big of a problem with textual harassment. The actual text messages can be acquired through a judge’s order, so employees should think twice before they send off lewd, suggestive, or even overly familiar text messages.

Email

Certain businesses require employees to sign over specific rights when it becomes to privacy, especially concerning the use of company resources and email systems. What may seem like an innocent jab or insult can constitute legal grounds for termination of an employee through a violation of a contract.

Some companies monitor the correspondence between employees on emails, whether it be personal or company accounts. The thinking behind these policies is that since the worker is using a business computer, everything that is said on it should be available for the management to see.

Insulting coworkers and bosses on an email system as a joke, or sending off messages that can be construed as anything even remotely offensive (such as racist, insensitive, etc.) can lead to the firing of even the most senior staff.

Chat Programs

Chatting and instant messaging (IMing) are no different. If an employee is using a company computer or email service to participate in a chat room or instant messaging program, any offensive or inappropriate talk about the business or its employees may lead to termination. Anything said on the servers of the respective organization can be used against the worker.

The Moral of the Story

The moral of the story: Just don’t do it. Employees should exercise common sense, or general caution if lacking the former, when it comes to communicating at work, especially if it’s online via texting, emailing, or IMing. If you have even the tiniest doubt that something you’re about to say online is questionable, just don’t do it.

Additionally, employers may have a watchdog program designed to catch workers who are doing personal things on company time or making inappropriate remarks.  Just remember: online may as well be on the record. Online anonymity is a relic of the past.