Things You Didn't Know Could Get You Fired

Regardless of where you are on the corporate ladder, there rules are essential to understanding how to protect your job, how to get promoted, or even how you could get fired. If you don't learn these rules, you could potentially lose your job. Learn more about what things could get you fired so you can avoid them.

You probably know that stealing company property, lying to your boss, arguing with a client, or using drugs or alcohol at work can get you fired. But there are many other things you may not know could cause your company to cut ties. Things that can get you fired also include gossiping about others, talking negatively about your supervisor, sharing company secrets, and more. Let's look in more detail about what things could get you fired and how to avoid them.

Gossiping

Gossip is one thing that can get you in trouble—both in and out of the workplace. Some people have a hard time not sharing juicy bits of information they heard from a friend or co-worker. Some types of gossip can be vindictive and may be intentionally spread to tarnish someone's reputation.

If you gossip in this way, you can be terminated because the act is considered a form of workplace bullying. And anyone else who may have spread the (mis)information may also face the consequences as well.

Disparaging Your Boss

Even if you don't like your boss, you shouldn't share that fact. Spreading negative information about the boss can have a detrimental effect on your relationship with your employer. Consider the fact that your boss can make your work life more difficult, perhaps even suspending or terminating your position. Alienating someone who is your authority is a bad idea.

Poorly Representing the Company

Negatively representing your organization or the products or services it sells can get you fired. One of the best rules of thumb when talking about your employer in any public forum is to act like a representative of your company.

Even if you're not in sales or marketing, you represent the ideals and products of the organization. When you sign a job contract, you're essentially signing up to represent the company for which you work, so it's in your best interest to consider yourself as an ambassador of your employer in every situation.

Sharing Confidential Information

Sharing confidential information about your coworkers or the company you work for is usually grounds for firing. There are some positions within a company where this might be included in the employment contract, such as for medical staff, human resources personnel, or legal professionals. Those who work in a company's research and development (R&D) department may find a similar clause in their contracts relating to trade secrets.

But even if you don't work in areas that deal with sensitive information, you may still face problems if you share private information about the company. This could include the company's financial performance, private information about the wellness of another employee, or perhaps even details of the company's strategic plans.

Putting Negative Thoughts in Writing

Creating a document that contains private information could be dangerous if there aren't protections for that document. This includes email, which is generally considered the property of your employer, giving them the right to monitor what you're sending and receiving at your work account. For example, sending emails that contain private or personal information or opinions, rather than facts, can cause concern.

Revealing Company Secrets

Some highly specific job contracts may outline the need to keep company secrets confidential, though this is generally something that's left out of many employment contracts.

Most employers now monitor social media for intelligence coming from their competitors. This only makes sense. Every company wants to gain a competitive advantage. Allowing your company to lose its advantage can result in a significant economic impact on the organization.

Oversharing on Social Media

Our world depends largely upon social media to disperse news and communicate with those in our networks of friends, family, colleagues, and other associates. Posting anything to a social media site that you wouldn't feel comfortable saying in front of your boss definitely has the potential to affect your job.

You can easily lose your job if you said something in an online forum that insulted your boss, the company you work for, or a co-worker. You can also be terminated if you expressed an opinion online that goes against your employer's image.

Even if your profile is private, you don't know who will see what you've said or if one of your contacts will spread the information you thought you were posting in confidence.

The Bottom Line

Try to avoid doing anything at work you'd feel uncomfortable doing in front of your boss. Even if the boss isn't present, there's always a chance that word will work its way through the office, and your boss will find out. Do your best to maintain decorum, show enthusiasm for your job, and follow the company's guidelines—written or otherwise—on all things related to attendance and deadlines.