The recent Billy Bush (I don’t know the full details but I think he made derogatory remarks along with Donald Trump) case made me think of something.
He was penalised for something he did 11 years ago.
Can you imagine what would happen if we were all penalised for stupid shit we did years, if not decades ago? We’d all be out of a job and no one would be working.
Apparently these days you can lose a job over something stupid you did before even being employed by your current employer. Something that has absolutely nothing to do with them.
No one has a perfect life. We’ve all made stupid dumb mistakes. But to hold it against someone over a decade later is stupid in itself. And I doubt the people who run these companies who are sacking everyone have such perfect lives of their own and have never done stupid shit. Coz, yeah, you’d get the sack too.
I remember hearing about the sports reporter in America who got the sack for incorporating Prince song titles into the sports report. He got the sack for that! He wasn’t rude, he didn’t offend people, but he got the fucking sack because he didn’t abide by the “network rules”.
Are you fucking kidding me!!!!!
People in glass houses…peeps…people in glass houses…
Plowing Through Life (Martha) says
Unfortunately, that's what's going on today. Companies want to steer clear of whatever – or whoever – invites controversy or negativity. It's because of all this social media.
L.J. Diva says
It's very sad that's what our jobs and careers have come to.
Cheryl says
Yes, this story has had a lot of traction here because it had such fallout from the Trump campaign. It didn't help that Billy Bush had a clash last month with the other NBC anchors over the Ryan Lochte scandal at the Olympic games.
I think NBC needed to separate themselves from the controversy. Had this tape appeared when Trump was just a reality show personality…he would still have a job.
I agree with you that as time goes on, especially after 11 years go by, some immature behavior needs to be overlooked. BUT…I do think people need to take caution how they act and what they do when they are "on the clock". When anyone is representing their employer they do need to be accountable on how they represent themselves.
Still, I think employers need to recognize people have private lives and things like Facebook need not to be taken too seriously. Everything has limits though.
L.J. Diva says
Absolutely Cheryl. Imagine if you got the sack for something you did thirty years ago, the concept of sacking everyone for stupid stuff they did seems ridiculous.