Should a VP Fire an Employee Who Cussed at Him Outside of Work? TikTok User Asks
A self-described “young professional” TikToker by the name of Doc, who posts under the handle @thelife2932, posed a question to other users on the platform about an experience he had with an employee outside of work. The encounter was so bad, he wanted to immediately have the woman fired.
The owner, Doc, explained that the woman was being loud and cursing while on the phone.
Doc clarified that he’s a vice president at the company in question, and he saw a female employee wearing a company badge. According to OP, the worker’s behavior wasn’t representing the company well, because she was speaking loudly on the phone and cursing up a storm.
The woman didn’t take kindly to Doc’s suggestion to watch her language and take off her work badge.
Doc says he asked the employee to mind her language or remove the badge from her clothing, and the employee responded by telling him to “f— off.” His immediate impulse was to fire the woman, but he wanted to know what other TikTokers thought about the situation.
“I have a quick question…”
Doc says in the video: “Y’all, I’m extremely tired but I have a quick question. I run to the grocery store to grab something for dinner and while there, standing next to me is a young lady. And the young lady has a work badge on for the company in which I’m a VP for [sic]. She is on the phone, she’s ‘MFer this’ and ‘B this’ and extremely loud and inappropriate.”
“Representation is key and you never know who you’re around.”
The TikToker continued, “So I say to her kindly, maybe she should continue her conversation in private or at least remove her work badge, because representation is key and you never know who you’re around. She turns around and tells me to ‘f— o–.’ So my question is: next week, do I call her and her supervisor into my office because I was a stranger and she doesn’t know me to express where I’m coming from…?”
He then asked followers whether he should fire the woman over the incident or give her a second chance.
He then posed some other possible responses: “…or do I just let it go or do I just let her go? I’m…very straightforward. Training is there. Manuals are there. Do your job, represent us well, we’ll never have a problem. I don’t know. The old me would just say, ‘see ya later,’ The new me is kinda “I don’t know.” What do you guys think?”
Folks had mixed opinions, with some suggesting her behavior outside of work isn’t any of Doc’s concern.
Folks had a variety of responses to the clip. Some said he should leave the woman alone and that her behavior outside of work isn’t any of Doc’s concern.
Others said he should probably fire her right away.
Some mentioned that he should probably fire her right away, but many said the incident was better used as a teachable moment for the young woman and that a meeting with her would ultimately help him decide how to handle the situation.
Many believed her behavior in the meeting would be key.
In general, folks thought if she had a positive reaction to the meeting and seemed to understand where Doc is coming from, he would learn everything he needed to know about the woman’s personality, and thus her potential at work.
Some labelled it as a “teachable moment.”
“This is definitely a teachable moment,” one commenter wrote.
For those sitting on the edge of their seat, Doc provided an update.
Doc revealed in a follow-up TikTok video that he ultimately decided to discuss the incident with the employee and her supervisor. He scheduled a meeting, but the employee decided not to go as she didn’t deem it “worth her time.” Her supervisor ultimately decided to fire her after that interaction.
What do you think?
What do you think? Was Doc taking the initial situation at the grocery store too seriously and therefore at fault for the situation? Or do you think he was right to take issue with her behavior outside of work since she was wearing a badge with the company name on it?