The blogging world has been abuzz the past few days at the story of Joe Gordon, an employee at the Waterstone's in Edinburgh who was fired from his job for comments made about his job on his personal blog. The Guardian has a pretty good article on this, and here's Joe's own statement on his blog about the matter. Looking at the blog, Joe seems to be saying nothing more than a guy having a bad day at the offiice might say, though with a higher degree of irony and acerbic wit.
Given that Waterstone's has no policy on employee blogging many have observed it's ... uncomfortable that a bookseller is firing someone on the grounds of how they have expressed themselves in writing on their own time . I visited that Waterstone's in Edinburgh about eight years ago and remember I was really impressed with the SF section which was Joe's responsibility and bought a few graphic novels and Doctor Who books there. I think the next time I go to Britain, Dillon's will be getting my bookstore custom.
Oh, note to everyone: The Burmese Days Literary Club will be back up and running in the next day or so. I've been nursing an awful cold
Posted by Graeme Burk at January 12, 2005 05:40 AMI don't know how things work in the UK, but in many states in the US, employees work at the pleasure of the employer. The Company doesn't need a reason to sack you. And certainly we have no freedom of speech in the workplace.
The Guardian photo of Joe striking a pose in front of Waterstone's is off-putting. From his blog we have this:
I am not a serf; I am not an indentured servant. I am a free man with the right of freedom of expression. The company does not own me, body and soul – conforming to their rules at work is to be expected, but in your own time and space? How can anyone be expected to go through their personal life in fear of saying the wrong thing? No-one should.
While I think Waterstone's over-reacted, it seems Joe is a little confused about his right to free speech. In the states, at least, it doesn't mean you can say whatever you want to whomever you want whenever you want wherever you want.
Having said that, I concur with your decision to take your business elsewhere.
Posted by: Bobby Farouk at January 12, 2005 07:46 AMJoa can choose to take the case to appeal under "unfair dismissal", if his union believes he has a case. (That seems likely as he appears to have received no formal warning about his blog prior to the summary dismissal*.) I know someone similarly dismissed for "gross misconduct" whose union got her her job back. And she was blogging at work, which Joe wasn't. However, kicking up a frenzy and getting lots of people writing emails to the CEO of Waterstone's parent company HMV is not likely to do such an appeal much good. Most bloggers should and are aware that posting personal comments about your employer online, where anyone can google them up, is not adviseable. It is not the same as a griping session in the pub because a blog entry stays there, it gets linked to, it gets googled.
*employers use the "gross misconduct" clause in an attempt to get around the whole written warning business. The legal types at Joe's union will, I'm sure, be arguing whether his blog consistutes "gross misconduct" or not. Says someone commenting from work...
Posted by: Mags at January 12, 2005 08:15 AMMaybe if we all start complaining about our employers this blog will take off.
Posted by: Alan Hogue at January 12, 2005 09:44 AMDo bookstore clerks in the UK ordinarily have union contracts? Sounds rather wonderful. They haven't here, I don't think.
Posted by: Martha Bridegam at January 12, 2005 02:56 PMA friend used to run a site called idiotsatwork.com. I posted weekly under my own name. I never identified my company or any individual but I guess I was jeopardizing my job by publishing my work woes.
Posted by: Barbara A. MacDonald at January 13, 2005 01:28 PMThis guy did identify the company by saying "Watershites", etc. instead of using "a High Street book chain" (which would limit it to about four - Waterstones, Ottakers, Borders and...er...OK, three).
I post about work, but not a lot and never give enough info for the company to be identified because if our clients came across me bitching about the company, we could lose business and that could lose me my job. Freedom of speech comes with taking responsibility for the consequences of that speech.
Posted by: Mags at January 13, 2005 04:15 PM