6 Common Bad Habits That Could Get You Fired
Are you guilty of doing at least one of these things?
By Catherine Conlan Monster Contributing Writer
It can be exciting to spot a celebrity out in the real world, and if you’re active on social media, your first instinct may be to share the sighting with the world. That’s natural, but if you’re on the job, you may want to think twice before you post. In her work helping companies with employee relations at Artixan Consulting Group, founder Xan Raskin says she encountered a case where a retail employee tweeted a photo of a celebrity who came in to shop. The employee kept the job, but received an official final warning for violating the customer’s privacy. That employee was lucky not to be fired, but easily could have been. If you’re not comfortable coming that close to losing your job, consider these six common practices that could get you fired.
Sharing your life online
You may think you’re safe because you lock down potentially shocking photos of what you do in your free time, but as Raskin’s story illustrates, even a passing social media mention of something going on at work can put your job at risk. “Other things that will get you fired through using social media are things like making fun of clients, speaking ill of a company you work for or hope to work for, or accidentally saying something derogatory on the company social media pages like Twitter, Facebook and Google+,” says Chris Dyer, CEO of PeopleG2.
Abusing your employee benefits
If your employer offers goods or services at a discount as one of its employee benefits, selling them could get you in trouble, Raskin says. “I know employers who troll eBay looking for employees doing just that. It’s a quick way to get fired.”
Consuming adult content on company equipment
Watching risqué programming on your company computer is just a bad idea — and yet, people still do it, Raskin says. “I know of one executive who thought if he was watching porn on his company computer on an international flight, then it was OK. He wasn’t sitting at his desk in his office, after all. Being over international waters didn’t count, I’m afraid. Fired.”
Assuming your work email is private
“Email has become one of the quickest, and most surprising, reasons to be fired,” says Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation.com. Company-owned email systems are often monitored, but many people erroneously assume conversations conducted through these systems are private. Badmouthing your employer, sending inappropriate messages or using your business email for personal reasons can put you at risk for a firing, she says.
Enjoying legal drugs in your spare time
If you vacation in a state where marijuana is legal and partake while you’re there, can you get in trouble with your employer? Bradley Hunt, attorney with Brinkley Walser PLLC, says his firm examined that question for a client and found: “While that consumption of marijuana in Colorado may have, in fact, been legal and on the up and up, if that employee was administered a random drug test by the employer per company policy, and that test came back positive, their employment can still be terminated even if the use of marijuana was done legally in a state that has legalized the use of marijuana.” A Colorado appellate court held that because marijuana is still illegal under federal law, employees could be fired for using it off duty, says Jeremy Robb, an associate with Nilan Johnson Lewis. “Only a handful of states — including Arizona, Delaware, and most recently Minnesota — generally prohibit employers from terminating registered medical marijuana users if they test positive for marijuana.” When it comes to lawful, off-duty actions such as smoking tobacco, some states prohibit employers from firing an employee, Robb says. However, other states do not have such prohibitions and employers may fire or refuse to hire smokers.
Slacking on the job
You’re hired to do one thing — your job. And if you don’t do it, your employer might let you go. The most common reason people get fired is poor performance, says attorney Michael Rehm. “For some reason, this always catches the employee by surprise. It is the most obvious one, but for some reason, the one that seems to be least expected.”
Legal Disclaimer: None of the information provided herein constitutes legal advice on behalf of Monster.