'Cheap': Employee Dragged for Sending Coworker's Social Media Post to Boss

Internet commenters stood firmly on the side of one employee whose critical social media posts ended up in the hands of their boss.

In a viral Reddit post published on the popular r/antiwork forum, Redditor u/blugogi said they criticized a gift they received from their employer on social media, and detailed the aftermath of their boss finding out. Titled, "My coworker screenshotted my IG story and sent it to my supervisor," the viral post has received nearly 30,000 votes and 3,000 comments in just six hours.

Explaining that they recently received a "cheap wireless charger" as a token of appreciation from their employer, u/blugogi said they posted the gift on their Instagram story with a tongue-in-cheek caption.

"We can't pay you a competitive wage but here's an off brand wireless charger for all your hard work," the Redditor captioned their social media post.

The next day, u/blugogi was informed that a coworker had screenshotted the Instagram story and relayed it to their workplace supervisor. Recounting their supervisor's reaction, the Redditor said their commitment was questioned.

"She said 'it seems like you're ungrateful for the gift and your raise in January...I can't tell you what to post or what not to, but I just want to let you know it may negative affect how your coworkers see you and it makes me question your commitment to the company,'" they wrote.

In response, u/blugogi explained how strong their commitment to their employer has been, and added that their supervisor acknowledged they are underpaid for the job they have been doing.

"I told her I spent 18 hours this past weekend working OT and negotiated my salary 3x last year. If that's not commitment [I don't know] what is," they wrote. "All she had to say was... 'You're getting the opportunity to work on projects other people at your level at other companies [don't] get to...you should think about that as part of your compensation.'"

Although the Redditor's supervisor acknowledged that they cannot control what employees post on the internet, employers across the country reserve the right to react to disparaging social media posts.

In the last few months, Newsweek has reported on multiple cases of coffee shop employees being fired for making racist and vulgar TikToks and other social media posts about customers.

Although racist and other discriminatory social media posts can lead to termination by an employer, some internet activities are protected by federal labor laws, according to Nolo, a leading online resource for legal information.

"Employees are protected whether or not they are in a union," the Nolo website reads. "Even in a non-union workplace, employees who act together on workplace issues...are protected from employer retaliation."

However, social media posts like the Redditor's Instagram story about the wireless charger they received from their employer are not always protected. In cases of employees posting "personal gripes" they have with employers, the National Labor Relations Board found that federal labor laws are less likely to apply.

Due to a potential lack of protection, it is sometimes recommended that employees refrain from becoming friends with coworkers on social media.

Despite finding that "employees' online bonding social capital was linked with job satisfaction, and the process of bridging virtual social capital positively impacted job performance," Psychology Today maintains that employees only become social media friends with coworkers they have strong and positive relationships with in real life.

In the viral Reddit post's top comment, which has received 16.6K votes, Redditor u/bardera encouraged the post's author to block the coworker that relayed their Instagram story to their supervisor.

"Block that coworker (and honestly, others) from your social media," they wrote. "What a tattle tale."

Echoing that sentiment, another Redditor said instances like the one described in the original post are why they don't interact with coworkers online.

"This is why I make it a rule to never add anyone I work with on social media," u/No-Memory-644 wrote. "Imagine if you called in sick or needed a mental health day and they see it while on break and try to paint some picture of you 'lying' to get out of work."

Amid a sea of comments aimed at the original poster's coworker, many Redditors took issue with their supervisor's response to the social media fiasco, and her admission that u/blugogi has been working on projects that are above their pay grade.

Redditor u/BrackaBrack, whose comment has received more than 4,000 votes, questioned the supervisor and encouraged the original poster to seek employment elsewhere.

"I like the part where she admits they are giving you work that would be above your pay grade at another company and that you should be grateful and consider that a bonus," they wrote. "So she admits to your face that they are taking advantage of you and that you should be grateful."

"Yeah it's a bonus alright," they added. "A bonus to put on your resume to apply for other jobs."

Newsweek reached out to the National Labor Relations board for comment.