Don’t get fired for posting dumb things

Published in El Pais, 14 August 2018.

Every year marvel releases a few movies of entertaining, light hearted superhero movies. I myself enjoy them immensely despite not being much of a comic fan. Avengers affinity war was amazing, but my favourites are the Guardians of the Galaxy series as a band of misfits wiz through space to become unlikely heroes. So of course, it was a great disappointment when I learned that Disney had fired director James Gunn following some controversial tweets. This, certainly, seems to be a recurring theme with celebrities putting their career on the line for controversial social media postings. What makes James Gunn’s tweets different is that they were not posted recently but as much as ten years ago showing that nothing is safe once it’s posted on the World Wide Web.

Surely, just because you’re not famous does not mean you are immune to this yourself as employers are quick to cut ties with employees who post controversial topics and are vigilant in making sure new hires have not already done so. One study by the New Yorker showed that 40% of employers examine a prospective employee’s social media accounts before hiring them. With posts as little as complaining about having to go to work being enough to cost them the job. Even if someone posts something political that appears to be on par with what the majority are thinking it can cost you your job. President Trump’s popularity seems to be shrinking but that did not stop a consultancy firm from firing an employee who was caught posting giving him the finger.

There seems to be some pushback however on whether or not time should be a factor with the entire cast of Guardians 3 signing a petition to reinstate him arguing what’s the point in growing as a person if you get punished anyways. I will not weigh in on that, but I will advise you to save the trouble and think twice every time you post something on social media and stay out of politics. Even if you voice your support with the majority, you never know what consequences may arise from it.