A man was fired from his job after his employers printed 50 hours of his search history. He warns others about online privacy.
Lately, a man named Josh Williams was fired from his job after his employers printed out 50 hours of his search history.
This situation has raised concerns about workplace monitoring.
It emphasizes the consequences of personal searches conducted on company computers.
Josh, a 26-year-old who worked as a customer service administrator, had been with the company for three months.
In July, he was called into a meeting with his bosses. They confronted him about his work performance and frequent sick days.
Williams admitted that he had taken time off for what he described as “stupid” reasons, including using nasal tanners.
However, he was not fully aware that his online activities would lead to such serious consequences.
Man issues warning after being fired from job over computer search history
The company monitored his internet usage
During the meeting, his employers revealed that they had been monitoring his internet usage.
They presented a lengthy printout of his search history, which contained some unusual queries, such as “Simon Cowell botched botox” and “Does Turkey teeth hurt?”.
Williams acknowledged that his searches were not particularly professional, but he felt that he was simply passing time on a slow workday.
“I was still on probationary period [in the job I was sacked from]. I had two or three sick days and the excuses I used were just bloody stupid excuses,” he explained.
Josh explained that he had grown frustrated with his job.
He felt that there was not enough work to keep him busy, which led him to browse the internet during office hours.
“It had come to the point where the workload for myself just wasn’t enough for me.
I just didn’t have any work given to me so I found myself googling on the company computer.”
Unfortunately, this decision came back to haunt him.
His employers took his search history as a sign of unprofessional behavior and decided to terminate his employment.
After losing his job, Josh found himself in a difficult financial position.
He had recently spent all his savings on a trip to Turkey for dental work, leaving him both cashless and jobless.
With no immediate income, he turned to TikTok, a platform where he decided to share his story.
He posted a video detailing the events leading to his firing, hoping to gain support and perhaps some quick cash.
While he initially thought it would be a lighthearted way to cope with his situation, the video had unintended consequences.
Some viewers criticized him for being “too old” to be fired over such issues.
More importantly, he believes that his TikTok video affected his job prospects.
After applying for new positions, he was rejected from three different jobs.
Employers cited that they were aware of his TikTok and felt that his values did not align with their company culture.
Reflecting on his experience, Josh expressed feelings of embarrassment and shame.
He wished he had been more cautious before posting the video, as it ultimately harmed his chances of finding new employment.
Although he made around £450 from his TikTok videos, it was not enough to alleviate his financial troubles.
He said: “They obviously recognized the video and said that my values didn’t align with their company.
“Basically saying we’ve seen your TikTok and we think you’re sh*t and we’re not having you here in other words.
Obviously, I didn’t feel good about it. It made me feel quite embarrassed to be honest and quite ashamed of myself.”