All companies hire people with hopes of them having a great experience while improving the company with their skills and abilities. However, when things go south, there are a number of things to consider preparing for that will require your attention.
With the rise in social media comes the ability to voice one’s opinion to society. When you’re working for a company, you should be proud of the work you do and want others to know how you feel about it too. On the other hand, if you’re not happy with the way a company is doing things or treating people, it’s much easier to speak up and put an opinion out there to start controversy. That is why companies like Glassdoor.com have been on the rise. Employees have a stronger voice than ever before.
Social media platforms are meant to connect people, and this is no exception for disgruntled employees everywhere. We see people who are unhappy with things all the time—Trump’s election, women’s rights, minority rights, workers’ unions, etc.—use social media to spread their message, mobilize, and band together in the form of protests, marches, and petitions. As we empower more employees to be the brand as a human-centric company, this enables them to speak whether it be positive or negative.
Networking with others to reveal shared negative experiences is powerful because everyone then has their experience validated by others who faced similar situations. There is power in numbers, and more people are apt to take notice of what these employees have to say if there is a large group of them all conveying the same message.
This increase of people sharing their stories, negative and positive experiences alike, contributes to society’s overall perception of a company. Whether people read those posts is not the most important element: seeing it is. It’s like seeing an ad while you’re scrolling through your feed: if you want to learn more or it sparks your attention, you’ll click on it. If you don’t, then you’ll scroll by. It’s the same process with people sharing content on social media, but it’s ultimately negative when people begin to get fatigued and annoyed by seeing more stories.
If a company is surrounded by overwhelming negative energy from those who quit or were fired, there is reason for concern. When it comes down to it, even though the employees might be claiming situations that have not been verified or confirmed, there is a stigma attached to people speaking out against companies. It’s either the company or the employee that people want to blame, and it’s much easier to blame an individual than a conglomerate of people; but, if the company is truly in the wrong and more people accuse it of trying to cover up whatever happened, they’re in for even more backlash.
Another effect to take into consideration with disgruntled employees is how that person’s attitude affects other current employees. Current employees can question their feelings about individuals within the company and the whole company if they see one of their coworkers (or former coworkers) being treated poorly or unfairly. It will also make them question their own standing within the company. Thoughts could run through their minds like, “how would they treat me if I was being fired?” or “how would I react in this situation if it was me they were delivering bad news to?”
People are finding ways to express themselves and communicate their ideas more than ever before, and this is why humanizing business can be so revolutionary in contemporary society. Companies taking care of and respecting their employees is the first step to establishing mutual respect and building fidelity, and that’s what we should be working towards.
Feedback is very important to me, and I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts and insight. What examples of this in the real world have you experienced? How have you seen this type of situation handled?
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