Facebook Firing Can Backfire

In Fort Wayne another employee was fired over a Facebook faux pas. Drew Stith was an otherwise exemplary employee until he clicked like on a page called “5 Hour Energy Sucks.” He said the product doesn’t work for him. The company he works for is Living Essentials who produces 5 Hour energy. They saw the posting and said if he doesn’t like the product then he doesn’t need to work for them. Stith didn’t think his personal opinion of the product reflected on his work performance but the company felt it made them look bad so they terminated him which was within their legal rights.

Pretty commonplace cut and dry story it seems for these days of digital data. It’s a reminder yet again of using common sense in the social media world. However I think that companies like this might be the ones lacking in practical knowledge department on some of these instances of internet induced firing.

Over the last few months I have noticed the push in 5 Hour Energy advertising. I have been repetitively bombarded with their ads that run practically non-stop while watching my favorite shows on Hulu. On the morning commute I hear Macow pushing their product on the radio. I understand what they’re trying to sell me and why. By all means I am their target market. I’m an on-the-go kind of gal that has to keep crazy hours and juggle several schedules. It’s a quick low calorie alternative to the inherently unhealthy caffeine addiction I’m currently denying that I have. On occasion I’ve eyeballed the little bottle on the counter at the convenience store while waiting in line.

Enter Dirk Stith and the story about him in the local media that found its way onto some major media outlets where millions of people could see perils of posting almost anything on any social media site. Now scroll down. On top of the overwhelming amount of comments echo a resounding, “DUH!” to Dirk for his dumb mistake, a door has opened there on what people and employees really think of the product. Not a lot of nice things were said and as a consumer I trust the voice of the people over any ad campaign a company could throw at me so maybe Living Essentials deserves the “Duh!”Companies that inevitably encounter similar incidents can wind up creating the bad buzz they are trying to avoid by acting to severely to social media snafus like this.

Had they stuck to a stern lecture and written reprimand for Stith the incident would have gone quietly away. Instead they are faced with some folks calling for boycotts, others listing the unhygienic experiences they’ve encountered with the product and a whole bunch of people just saying that it just tastes bad. Not to mention how many more people have visited and liked the 5 Hour Energy Sucks since they brought it up.

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By Heather Fairchild - Heather is a writer and blogger for Nexxt. She researches and writes about job search tactics, training, and topics.