osbasso

I’m fairly certain I recognize this situation, and it’s missing a bit of the story. However…

I think it depends upon the employer. If you’re a state government drone, who really cares? On the other hand, if you’re working for a private business, then the owner has the right to expect a certain level of behavior. Teachers are held to a higher expectation, rightly or wrongly. Construction workers, probably not. But in the end, someone is filling the bars on the weekends, and they all work somewhere!

Bottom line, I think private sector bosses should expect a certain level of behavior, especially if one is easily recognized as his employee. May not seem fair, but it’s also alot of common sense. Could you get fired for it? That’s another story. A “chat” about it might be more appropriate, depending on the behavior.

I will never forget the image of the Governor of Montana dancing on the table tops at a ski lodge where we were playing for the weekend. Drunk as a skunk. Regardless of what he may or may not have done for the state, that image is seared in my head to this day.

  Another Suburban Mom

I think it depends on the job and the behavior. If you are a cubicle captive, I think that what you do in your free time is your business as long as it is not illegal.

If you are the VP and are constantly photographed at events identifying you as the VP of such and such a company, you might want to make a better effort at keeping the private things private.

  NY Diva

I think it depends on the position and company and what the activity was. And there is a difference between just doing something and doing something and broadcasting it to the world via the Internet for anyone to see. That’s where discretion comes in and where I think you’re more likely to get busted for ‘bad’ behavior. Because it’s not like an employer is going to follow you around outside work but he could see the photographic evidence on facebook.

Personally I try to be careful about what I do because I would be embarassed if one of my students saw me out doing something I shouldn’t have been. So if you’re the face of what you do, that means both at and outside of work.

  Dana

Definitely not black and white …

The bottom line is that EVERYTHING we do reflects on some part of our lives, whether that is our professional life or our personal life really doesn’t matter.

I believe that an employer has a duty to be aware of what their employees are doing outside of business, and I believe employees have a duty to use common sense in their after work activities.

Is it fair? Maybe not. Can it be grounds for being fired? I’ve seen it happen to a blogger who badmouthed their employer.

In a nutshell, I think an employer has no “formal” place to say what you do, how you act, who you see, and your life outside of the work environment, but I believe that, as an employee, you better be willing to accept that what you do, how you act, who you see, and your life outside of work might impact your desirability as an employee.

  PC

When I was in the Navy, I was faced with this all the time. After all, it’s not very hard to pick us out of a crowd. So if our behavior was poor, we could easily be turned in.

Outside of the military, I’ve rarely come across this situation in a real fashion. Let’s face it. Companies are increasingly doing background checks and credit checks to get an idea of how their employees will be. And executives can really be put through the ringer.

Having said all of that, what an employee does is his own business. The employer has no real right (except in certain situations where it’s known upfront and is a condition for employment) to impose special criteria.

If what a person’s job suffers then an employer may have cause to terminate. Then and only then is it the employer’s business.

  Vixen

Os- I purposely left out some of the information. I wanted to get others views and opinion on the general subject. :)

  Chef Troll

BEST PRACTICES HR SUGGESTS

1) It’s unwise to focus policies on “average joes”.

2) Monitoring any employee’s free-time is unwise.

3) Policies should focus on Job Class and Title and not individuals.

4) The reasons WHY a Job Class or Title is covered by the policy should be clearly stated in writing and ALL people holding that Title should sign an acknowledgement that they understand the policy.

5) Sanctions against employees who are adjudged to have violated the agreement should be progressive to the extent possible.

6) Sanctions MUST be fairly administered across those in the Job Class or holding the Job Title.

7) A full review of costs and benefits should be undertaken before the policy is enacted.

8) Internal and external Legal Counsel should review the policy before it is enacted.

9) More stuff than this but you get the gist.

My personal belief is that 90% of Organizations don’t need a Policy and for those that do more than 90% of Job Classes should be exempt.

  breve

I agree with most everything posted thus far….it is not black and white….

I was a public school teacher, and some of my co workers were afraid to be seen buying beer or wine at the store….my view was that I was over 21 and should not be ashamed….There is a higher set of standards for teachers, and other people of authority. I guess as a parent, my thought has always been more to protect family and not employer image….it is a matter of discretion….

  Alfie

Beautiful picture by the way. I can’t make up my mind about employers’ right to pry into their employees private lives. I’m not comfortable with it, but would I like my child to be taught by a bigotted racist, for example? No.

  Sage

Well I’d say it depends on the place you work as well as your title. If you are seen by customers/clients then it would apply.
That should be stated though in the job description.
Should be made known prior to taking the position.

I represent 35 manufacturers and I am very careful where I am and what I do when representing them, especially since I often wear hats/shirts with one of their individual logo on them, or with my logo on them. I would never go to a strip club with a shirt on bearing the logo of a manufacturer I represent.

  TUG

OK-totally ignoring the question at the moment ;)

At first glance I thought that was a picture of you! Damn, you wrote something for CQW?

  Vixen

TUG- Ha! I wish, that girl is fucking smoking HOT. Damn….. ;)

(but she’s smoking, it could never be me! LOL)

  ZomBee

I firmly believe that when you are at work you are at work and when they are not paying you your time is yours. I can not fathom why someone would allow their job to control their real lives. No job is worth that.

  Biscuit

Society has rules, and while some of them don’t make sense, we all have to play along at some point when we really don’t want to.

We have all chosen the jobs we have. If you don’t like the behavior required, don’t take the job. Or practice some discretion. Ideally, how you spend your time outside of work should be no one’s business but your own, but it doesn’t work that way. If I found out that one of the nurses who worked for my child’s pediatrician was a rabid homophobic, or one of those people who pickets the side of the road with pictures of dead fetuses, or engaged in screaming matches with their spouse in public, I’d have a problem with that. Whether or not it is done on their own time, it would affect my opinion of not only that person, but of their employer. I might change pediatricians. At the very least, I would have a discussion with the doctor about my discomfort. How happy is the doctor going to be to have to deal with that?

I’m sure there are situations in which an employee’s behavior is unfairly judged by the yardstick of an employer’s personal belief system, but, I think, most adults should be capable of discerning what is and isn’t proper behavior in a public place where you may be observed by those who would disapprove.

Which is why I go to Nashville to let my freak flag fly. ;)

  autumn

definately depends on how high up in an organization said employee is. i work in a small office and do occasionally socialize with some of my co-workers on personal time. i do not expect that any of our activities would reflect negatively on the company and would be very upset if i were told to “monitor my behavior”. they get enough of my time as it is. i work hard and do my own thing on my own time.

one time i organized a pub crawl. i had shirts made, and my boss only asked that i didn’t put our logo or full company name on the shirts, as he knew we would be drinking for 12 hours and didn’t feel it appropriate. now that, i understand.