Video is all around us these days. There are dash cameras on many vehicles, and cameras on every phone. If you go to a concert you will see people watching the concert through their phones, which I find a bit weird. The point is that cameras and video are all around us; even if you don’t want to be filmed you may be on video in the area or in the background while someone is filming and get caught in the picture. It really doesn’t take much to be on video these days and you may not even know about it or be aware that you were filmed. I bring this up because you may be putting your job on the line by just enjoying your day off.

This happened to an employee of Hydro One not too long ago. If you saw the news a few weeks ago a few fans at a soccer game were interviewed and caught on camera shouting indecent profanities at a female reporter. Apparently this is becoming a common sight at soccer games in Europe and these guys felt it was okay to do the same in Toronto. What was worse is that after they were confronted from a distance by the female reporter they were actually interviewed by the same reporter and asked to justify the profanities they were yelling. They were laughing as they spoke on live video trying to justify their position. They looked like total idiots trying to defend something that many watching felt was really offensive towards women and the public in general. The video went viral on the internet and was shown by all the local television stations in the area and one of the participants was recognized by their boss and fired on the spot. The video sparked nationwide discussions on behaviour outside of the workplace. I was shocked, not that the person lost their job, but the fact that they were stupid enough to say the things they did on camera. The one employee was on the Sunshine list which means he was making over $100,000 per year, what was he thinking? There is a time and a place to keep your mouth shut; being interviewed on national television in my mind, is one of those times. Whether or not he should have been fired is a whole discussion by itself.

Now that case was more of an extreme case but it shows you that you don’t have to be at the workplace to have your behaviour affect your job. It really is no different than you going to a party, enjoying yourself a little too much and having it caught on camera and uploaded to the internet. You don’t know who will see that and it may be your boss or future employer. I think everyone understands the joy of a party but you do have to be careful these days even at private events. You never know who is taking a video because they think an antic is cool. It may leave you outside cold.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge has been in the transportation industry for over 30 years and is author of the books Driven to Drive, Running by the Mile, and host of The Lead Pedal Podcast. Challenger Motor Freight Inc. is one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies (Platinum Member) and is looking for quality team members. To learn more about opportunities with Challenger visit their website at www.challenger.com