Woman gets fired for blogging
A French woman got fired from her job for blogging.
The firm, however, claims she tarnished their reputation and that she blogged on their time.
They may have a small point about blogging on their time on their computers, but is that worth firing?
Where is the line when one works for a corporation? It sounds to me that the woman tried very hard to keep the specifics of her employment out of the blog. Yet, she still lost her job and has to sue for recompense.
How much control do our jobs have over our lives? Recently, at the restaurant I work at, they installed cameras in various locations "for security reasons." One of these cameras is outside the back door, which admittedly is in a rather creepy alley. Still, now that they camera is there, the GM makes a point that everyone must now ask permission to smoke a cigarette or check a voicemail or text message. If one doesn't, he can see you and you will get reprimanded.
Not quite as severe as getting fired, I know, but it still represents control over our lives.
Critics of corporations will point out that they are fascistic by their very construction, and any expectations on our part of democracy or egalitarian fairness is delusional.
In any case, I make sure I blog only at home, and I don't even write about the workplace if I can avoid it.
Does that mean I have given in to the company's control?
The link: http://apnews.myway.com//article/20060720/D8IVRIO01.html
She kept her popular blog anonymous, never revealing her full name or workplace. But despite her attempts at secrecy, her employer found out and fired her - unusual in labor-protected France, where workers have strong legal protections.
Now she's suing her employer in a case generating buzz on both sides of the English Channel.
The
lawsuit is seen as a test case in France, where there have been few
cases of bloggers getting fired, unlike in the United States, where
there is even a word for it: getting "dooced," a reference to the
author of , Heather B. Armstrong, who was fired for writing about her
colleagues.http://www.dooce.com
The firm, however, claims she tarnished their reputation and that she blogged on their time.
They may have a small point about blogging on their time on their computers, but is that worth firing?
Where is the line when one works for a corporation? It sounds to me that the woman tried very hard to keep the specifics of her employment out of the blog. Yet, she still lost her job and has to sue for recompense.
How much control do our jobs have over our lives? Recently, at the restaurant I work at, they installed cameras in various locations "for security reasons." One of these cameras is outside the back door, which admittedly is in a rather creepy alley. Still, now that they camera is there, the GM makes a point that everyone must now ask permission to smoke a cigarette or check a voicemail or text message. If one doesn't, he can see you and you will get reprimanded.
Not quite as severe as getting fired, I know, but it still represents control over our lives.
Critics of corporations will point out that they are fascistic by their very construction, and any expectations on our part of democracy or egalitarian fairness is delusional.
In any case, I make sure I blog only at home, and I don't even write about the workplace if I can avoid it.
Does that mean I have given in to the company's control?
The link: http://apnews.myway.com//article/20060720/D8IVRIO01.html
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