A British man has revealed that he was fired from his job after bosses printed out 50 hours' worth of his online search history.
We've all tried to find ways of making the time go quicker when things aren't busy at work (not me, boss), whether it's catching up on the latest celebrity gossip or finding out which Star Wars character you most relate to.
Procrastinating can be pretty damaging according to experts, although most wouldn't predict that it would cost someone their job, particularly in the circumstances in which Josh Williams was fired from his.
Advert
It seems as if some bosses are getting more and more inventive when it comes to finding ways to fire employees, as one woman found out recently when she was given the bad news on her day off.
Josh - who had been working as a customer service administrator for three months - said his managers decided to print out some of the 'stupid stuff' he'd been searching for during work hours. This included things such as 'Simon Cowell botched botox' and, ahead of going to get his done, 'does Turkey teeth hurt'.
He said: "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.
"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."
Advert
After losing his job, with rent due, Josh decided to post about his situation on social media, where it quickly went viral and helped the lad pay his bills.
He added: "I knew I had no income coming in so I thought the only other source I've got is TikTok, so that's why I decided to put it up on there."
While he was eventually able to find a new role as a supply chain coordinator in the food industry, he claims that posting the video did cost him as many as three further roles.
Advert
Josh explained: "They obviously recognised 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 s**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."
While he wants to pursue content creation full time, Josh has warned others from making the same mistake he did, urging people to 'be really cautious before you put anything online even if it is just in the heat of the moment'.
He added: "It might seem quite funny but I think looking at my situation and how it's impacted me I'd say it's probably one of the worst things you can do for you know future jobs and your career path and stuff."
Topics: Social Media, TikTok, Jobs
James Moorhouse