Fired Over Facebook

When I first watched the video "Fired Over Facebook," I was extremely shocked. Seeing that Glen Busch was fired from his job due to just a Facebook post, really opened my eyes to the risks of posting on social media. Busch's employer's reasoning for terminating his position was not wanting the company to be involved in public controversy - either in support of opposition to any issue.

Even though his job termination was devastating to Busch, I do however believe that his firing was legal. Employers have every right to view their employees' social media pages. If an employee of a company posts something- good or bad, it reflects on the company.

Judging by the video, I believe that a digital footprint would be a trace or "mark" one leaves on the internet by the things you choose to post. One thing I have been told over the years is that what you choose to put on the internet- good or bad, never goes away. It will always be out there somewhere which is why it is so important to be cautious about what you are posting. 

I believe that one can set their social media settings such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to private, but one should still be aware of what they are posting. Even though privacy settings may make it more difficult for employers to see your personal life, they still have the technology and knowledge to access your personal pages.

If I were one of Glen Busch's friends, I would have told him not to post what he chose to write. Although we do have freedom of speech, it was not smart of Busch to post something that was so opinionated that others may see as insensitive, especially since he worked for such a major organization.




Another example of someone fired over social media:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ttx-ERwrh4


1. My initial reaction to this story was not shocked at all, but actually confused as to why this woman would post what she did on Facebook.
2. The woman in this story was fired for talking negatively about one of her co-workers on Facebook. The co-worker printed out the post and gave it to their boss.
3. I believe that the firing was legal and completely justified. If an employee is posting negative things about a co-worker or their boss on a public website, I believe they deserve to be fired. That is completely unprofessional, and reflects very badly on the company seeing that those are the type of people working for that company.