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It WILL come back to bite the casual complaining blogger

It WILL come back to bite the casual complaining blogger

by Linda Andrews -
Number of replies: 2

Respecting Others in Social Media - A Necessary Conversation for All Who Work Online

As we all spend more time online, we just  have to talk about online etiquette for the healthcare industry. I’m not talking just about HIPAA. I’m talking about every day courteous treatment of others, whether they are co-workers, employers, supervisors, or patients. We can be gracious to others, even if we think they don’t deserve it.

This begs the question, when is it okay to say something tacky or derogatory about someone else?

Is it okay to say something rude on Facebook, for example, because you know the person who annoyed you will never see it?

Is it okay to insult your co-workers on private Google groups and call it ‘venting’?

Is it okay to make fun of your employer because an e-mail went out with typos?

Is it okay to make fun of a physician who doesn’t write or speak clearly? Is it okay to make fun of a patient who (fill in the blank any way you choose)?

Even if they do something silly, ignorant, or inconsiderate, it is NOT okay to respond in kind.

By the way, it's just a matter of time before we start seeing people lose jobs because comments they made ‘privately’ got back to the (patient) (boss) (supervisor) (QA team) (physician). It isn’t a matter of ‘IF’, but a matter of ‘WHEN’ the words come back to bite the casual blogger ‘venting’ about a bad day here or there and the people who helped make it so.

This is a conversation I would like to continue here as most of us have more exposure to social media than ever before. If you have ideas or comments on this topic, please post them.

Re: It WILL come back to bite the casual complaining blogger

by Deleted user -

My husband is a music minister at our church, so we constantly have trials with people emailing us with complaints about this or that. Most are constructive criticism, while others are just plain mean. We have both discovered that in the ministry (or any other aspect of life, really) you HAVE to have a "duck's back"...just let the water (comments) roll off and move on. Of course this is easier said than done. I once had a woman in our choir email me ranting and raving about something, so I started ranting and raving back! After much thought I decided to just go in the garage, stomp my feet, scream like a wild banshee, and message her back with an apology and and genuinly tried to listen to her rants. This calmed her down, we moved passed it, and now we are friends!

I say all that to say it is NEVER okay to tear others down, publicy, privately, or otherwise because you can get in a heap of trouble. ESPECIALLY if it's recorded as a hard copy electronically! Stomp your feet, scream a little, and sleep on it if at all possible!  

Re: It WILL come back to bite the casual complaining blogger

by Deleted user -

I can second this position with the advice Mom passed down (I think she did). "If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all". I know of a few minor issues in the past, basically due to emails and a few vocal displays but now with the social communications, it really has increased the probablity of issues.

Even more seriously though, take to heart the rephrasing of this well known passage. "Anything you SAY can and will be used against you in a court of law". ANYTHING out there can show up, and perhaps even be wildly embellished to be used against you in a legal dispute. Therefore it is best to push the keyboard away and take a deep breath.