This isnt breaking a rule; its potentially putting your organization in jeopardy. It sounds like youre taking responsiblity for your actions and are doing your best to move on. Yes, own it. Certainly not an electronic blog. I think also this illustrates how hard confidentiality is; these are trained and likely reasonably experienced people who still couldnt resist this temptation. It shouldnt happen but Id understand if it did. 2. I just want to remind people that it happened. Yeah, wouldnt it be possible to prove (or rather disprove) that you leaked to a slack channel full of journalists? I love my younger co-workers and value their fresh take on things and energy, but there is a clear pattern of not understanding reputation risk and liability. If she really understood or valued confidentiality, she would not be trying to convince us of how victimless this was. The focus moving forward should be about realizing how serious a problem it was, how badly you feel about it, and how youre committed to not making the same mistake again. If the email involves sensitive information, this could be a serious problem for the people involved. Phrase it as a serious learning point, because you sure as hell aren't going to do it again after getting fired. Leaking private information in a huge breach, especially if that leak is to a journalist. Also, its not clear from your response Do you understand how serious what you did was? Hind-sight is 20/20, but the LW should have thought twice about sharing that leaked incident with any coworker, especially a mentor who likely would be obligated to let the higher-ups know. One of my coworkers saw another coworker sexually harassing a woman. Ethically, you dont have to do anything. Fired. As soon as someone has decided you're not a team player, or are a problem employee, then even tiny things get seen as evidence that you should be fired. But heres the thing you still have to have a ton of discretion about how you share and where. If you got the launch codes for the missiles, thats a big no no to share. Even if you feel that way, definitely dont say that! The US is a large jurisdiction, and generally have what I consider very little protection for private data. That being said, it doesnt change the fact that OP shouldnt have done it anyway, so harboring ill will towards this coworker is pointless. If you werent human, you wouldnt make mistakes. If I were in the coworkers position, I would need to do the same thing. Life may not look better in 6 months but I bet it does in 3 years. Sorry this happened, OP! If you told, you breached confidentiality, no matter what the other people did. Confidentiality is not just an issue in communications. Negative emotions are a learning toolfeeling guilty is very uncomfortable, so we dont repeat the behavior that led to the feeling guilty. In jobs that require non-disclosure, active disclosure is a very big deal. (Im not from the US, and not in government) If I were in OPs place, I would also be upset and feel betrayed. Theres truly no compelling reason to break confidentiality here. Im excited about the project I started today or Something cool is happening at work would be fine to say in most situations. Yes. Im also a supervisor. The first job will be the hardest but gradually you are less and less likely to be asked about an older job. Im not going to spell out what it was, but it was completely unethical and immoral, and shes lucky her license wasnt permanently revoked for it. A lot of times, the actual employee might not be important, but they might know something like when a key senior person works, or gossip about so-and-so, that is then used to either help with hacking, help with fraud, do additional social engineering where they know just enough about a topic to lead the conversation, or in some cases to put pressure on a higher-level person to try to get them to give further information or make certain decisions. A majority of those who work from home would use their own personal digital devices such as laptop, tablet or mobile to perform their daily work tasks and it is also convenient for employees to. Even if the coworker had malicious intentions, they were following privacy laws and regulations. Organisations can set up static rules (for example, you can send emails to business A but not business B), but these traditional methods are rigid and unreliable. +100. There are, unfortunately, many things I am doomed to not know even though I would really like to find out. It was a refreshingly candid answer and so we wound up hiring him. Wouldn't employers just throw my application to the bin once I declare I have been dismissed for gross misconduct? And not even trusting her not to publish it, but what if SHE got so excited by the news, just as LW did, that she just had to tell someone, and she picked someone that she trusted implicitly, and told them in strict confidence. Some certainly will, especially those who are more security-conscious. I have worked and volunteered at government-related organizations before. Your tone is very this wasnt a big deal and I shouldnt have been fired for it, when it really should be I made a foolish mistake which I deeply regret and Ive definitely learned my lesson. Letter writer: If youre still dealing with this emotionally, focus on the facts. Pay secrecy is a workplace policy that prohibits employees from discussing how much money they make. I know Id be pissed at you. Youll also want to double-check any attachments. Same here (investing). They care a little more in the last 2 years, but not much. Its extremely tempting to want to be the person in-the-know, but my motivation for keeping things confidential is stronger: I dont want to ruin my reputation, and I dont want deal with the fallout of severely disappointing my colleagues, whom I respect and like. Period. You know thats not how that works. The financial firm I worked for had mandatory quarterly compliance meetings with examples of Dont Be This Guy Because He Doesnt Work Here Anymore. Which is actually good most of us get making a mistake when were young, and really learning from it. Animaniactoo is right that folks who have to manage confidential information begin to cultivate the skill of sharing without making an unauthorized disclosure. Nothing got out about this before it was supposed to. Or well often hear from contacts on the Hill about something going on behind the scenes, like that a bill is about to be introduced. Its not about breaking a rule, its about potentially causing some serious issues by leaking information. Take ownership and accountability of it, because for better or worse, all of us could have made OPs mistake at some point in our careers. First, you need to be able to frame what you did for yourself. I know it isnt the actual incident since the details dont match (no twitter or cake pictures mentioned in OPs case), but I was assuming it was something like the NASA gravitational waves thing. The best solution for avoiding misdirected email altogether is through human layer security. Accept the responsibility for your actions and it will make life a lot easier going forward. So, you've accidentally sent an email to the wrong person. No, shes a person with ethics who plays by the rules. how to explain you were fired, when interviewing. First coworker was fired in spite of the fact that he was a brilliant and (normally) even tempered guy with years of work at the corporation. If anyone required training to answer FALSE! All this said, I think Alisons approach is the best one when youre applying for jobs. Maybe you get a 2nd chance IF you were contrite enough and blamed your excitement at the new teapot program. If I happened to expose that to my BIL who runs the comic book store and has a bunch of media and arts and entertainment contacts? In this situation, it is acceptable to make 'fear of attachment' jokes. Perhaps the email was intended for a client in which case the clients data is at risk and the sender has inadvertently committed a data leak. Ive been under NDA for things I cant even disclose to my boss, much less a friend outside the organization. I dont believe this falls under inadvertent, though OP deliberately gave that information to her friend. If you hadnt told your co-worker, then they could not have ratted you out. Agree with this. Yet, the subordinates were not pleased! (Plus, were not sure how much of the inflation came from the coworker and how much came from their superiors. Oh yeah, my response wasnt to you it was just to continue what Alanna said. In government, keep this confidential almost always means never share ever on pain of serious legal sanctions.. I agree. And that wasnt even technically confidential. UK officials are bound by the provisions of the Official Secrets Act and people have gone to prison for giving information to journalists before now. As easily as one of them knowing OP uses Slack to contact reporters and assuming I told a journalist friend or I told Rain (who they know is a journalist, possibly on that channel), anything but I texted a (journalist) friend meant OP went the usual Slack route. Even if you trust her 100%, she is still too high risk. It goes through a game of telephone and the person at the end of the line gets mad that the first person would say such a thing. Another point: you didnt just accidently tell about it. If there were excetions, that would be explicitly stated. She just needs to learn discretion. Where did you go from here? I stopped when my boss had a stern talk with me about it, but also because I noticed that I was getting the bad news later, too (other people at my level were told about layoffs the night before, I was told shortly before the companywide announcement) and I realized I was getting a reputation as someone who could not be trusted to keep my mouth shut. OP needs to learn the art of discernment. Remember when Beyonc lip synched at Obamas inauguration? reading. Until the boys parents threw the uncle out. Thats the one that needs to learn to keep things to herself? As a fellow human being, I absolutely get the impulse to tell someone about something! Ive had the occasional day when Ive really wanted to tell someone I met X today! Im literally barred by policy from opening up my own files unless theres a work related reason I could lay out to do so. I got that impression as well and have had younger coworkers who sent random, very personal info to me in texts. Let me tell you what happened to the people who were not on the care team and accessed a newsworthy medical case. they dont owe it to you to offer that opportunity, That reminds me of the guys who say, I know I cheated on you, but I want a second chance.. Age doesnt matter here. I dont know if shell do it again, but Im certainly not going to take the risk on someone who doesnt even seem to be sorry. I know this is pedantic, but as someone raised by a mother with BPD, I feel like its important to say that no ones feelings are wrong. My only other advice is to consider if there were any conversations on slack that were inappropriate. Any tax or benefit records, any survey or census records if I access them without good reason its a firing offence. Agreed. (Presumably easier to get caught via company comms but doesnt make the leak any different imo). It can feel like the end of the world but I promise you it isnt. How do I tell potential future employers why I got fired and have them still want to hire me? Ive been poking around in our payroll system for the last two weeks. 4. I encourage you to get involved with PRSA. I even tell friends this who work in classified situations and I dont even report the news anymore.). I got defensive and young from OPs response. Privacy Policy and Affiliate Disclosures. this is one of the reasons why its best to have a mentor who is NOT at the same company as you. He and my mother kept their noses clean. Im sorry this happened to you OP, yeah, in communications at nearly any company this in indeed A VERY BIG DEAL. UK government has fired people for looking up records of contestants on reality TV series, multiple times. Im not going to tell them about it, unless it actually falls out that I end up being the person who is put in charge of telling them their thing is done. Its especially challenging if youve grown up immersed in social media, where confidential emails with the names and sensitive details blacked out are frequently posted on Facebook or Twitter or someones blog, where they go viral. And maybe they can, and maybe that chain will end with someone who doesnt forward the info on, or peter out once the information does become public in this case. The Expert above is not your attorney, and . In fact, the coworker probably was obligated to report it anyway since she wasnt sure about the extent of the breach. Equally, when we had a client who does the same job role as someone I know, I had to completely embargo that piece of information in my head, because I know that its a small field and my friend might recognise the detail I thought was vague enough to be anonymous. Thank you it was getting boring to read everyones outrage. Click the "Settings" icon (the wheel/cog) and click "See all settings". Compare someone in law enforcement happening to find out the (secret) address and phone number of their friend-groups favorite celebrity, or finding the contact information for the cutie in the convertible, after their roommate catches the license plate numberand sharing. I didnt read it that way, its not a question of the coworker being Untrustworthy, its a matter of the OP not being able to judge who she can trust to keep things quiet. I thought it was over. I have to deal with famous folks at well; I work for a company that handles federal medical insurance and every once in a while I might run across Justice X, Senator Y, etc. Copyright 2007 - 2023 Ask A Manager. Both of those would merit a reprimand, separately or together, but somehow in the telling it got turned into that the latter happened with the former as the method. Contact the unintended recipient It's a good idea to contact the unintended recipient as soon as you realize the error. She showed no contrition or reflection. A misdirected email describes an instance where an email is sent to the wrong person or the wrong attachment has been added to an email that has the correct recipients in it. Calling this victimless shows OP still doesnt have insight into their behavior. Accept responsibility for what you did. Of course, its your fault but it is only human to be annoyed with someone, especially someone who seemed to completely misrepresent what happened. OP I dont want to pile on, many people have made the point that this would be a very big deal in many industries, and that your coworker was not responsible for your being fired, and indeed may have been obligated to report the violation. Its hard to imagine what at a government job could be SOOO Exciting! Also ratty. 4) The coworker was absolutely right to report the breach in confidentiality. People tend to share with trusted confidants/partners/etc. Disclosing Government information to a journalist (even a friend in confidence) without permission is a major breach of confidence and Im not surprised it resulted in a significant sanction. I didnt agree with it myself, and knew that it wasnt really possible without raising a lot of money, something my organization just isnt that good at doing. Because I can almost guarantee that your reputation in that organization would never recover, even if you had remained employed. I think if the OP had framed the situation as, how can I get another job after being fired for being a whistleblower after I shared important but unfortunately confidential information with a journalist because the public has a right to know, these comments would be very different. 27 April 2021. If you stay in comms, good to always remember the optics. This is one reason why I could only ever give a vague explanation of what my dad did. What OP did was incredibly serious and, as happened, a fireable offense. So I guess my coworker could have misunderstood when I said I texted one friend, but I wish she would have talked to me about that first? It will also help you to not repeat the mistake in the future. Yeah, I once got fired and I have always framed it as being fired for one thing I said in a meeting, but the truth is, I really got fired for not apologizing for saying the one thing. Trying to tell the OP otherwise is to minimize the impact of a serious offense. You would never want someone to find out from the news media that they no longer have a job, for example. All we can do is learn, rest, and go on another day. Screw-ups happen. Regulation people have heard of is going to be changed/repealed and its a big deal This is an issue in most fields. And by becoming the must fanatically trustworthy discreet person. Resist the temptation to gossip about fellow employees and don't express your disdain for your. If you had to process the cool news, it may have been better to process with the mentor instead. Not so here because what she did was wrong, just not quite as bad as the misunderstood version. This technique requires extra steps, but it . The OP would be better off to own up to her mistake and her mistaken thinking in saying/writing/texting the information, say what she learned from it, say how she would plan to deal with a similar situation about exciting confidential information if this ever happens again, and conclude by saying that it was 100% her own fault, that she doesnt blame the organization, the manager, or her coworker, that she understands that she put her coworker in a horrible position, and that she will NEVER do anything like that EVER again. A little time isn't unreasonable. The company I work for uses keyloggers and text scanners on our computers to catch these kinds of issues. For context I work with PHI covered under HIPAA for my job. Its no more blind-siding because the coworker reported the issue, than it would be if, say, IT had reported it after monitoring OPs traffic. Yeah, I think CA meant, the message was only sent to the friend/journalist, but you dont know where she opened it: if shes in an open newsroom or something, someone could have seen it on her screen over her shoulder. I dont think we fired anyone but the need for absolute confidentiality was reiterated. I dont know whether you meant it this way, but the co-worker is not untrustworthy for reporting this. People working on campaigns get to be privy to all sorts of information that is not intended to be public. Yes, you can get fired for opening a phishing email. But thats where having friends in the same workplace comes inyou can expend the impulse by gushing to them and then zip your lips once you leave the building. I understand your irritation with your former coworker. Understand the true risk of accidentally hitting send to the wrong person. This seems unnecessarily condescending, and I dont think the LW sounds defensive here at all. Draft your UI forms and pre-write your objection to his unemployment on the grounds of "good cause" firing for willful misconduct- Then after all that you can fire him. 100%? OP, take a deep breath. Age is hardly an indicator of a persons ability to consistently make the best choices at all times. Im also a public affairs officer for a government agency- one that almost exclusively deals with highly classified information. Then the stories died down and the pressure with it even though there were still occasional leaks. Its not their call. Everyone absolutely everyone employed at a hospital has to undergo annual HIPAA compliance training. While it didnt result in any press, it was obviously a major lapse in judgment and I understand why it resulted in my termination. [important person 1] and [important person 2] are coming to my office for a press conference. I completely agree that in the long run, this was a kindness. We got [Celebrity Y] to promote a big public health initiative! Request a personalized demo to see how Egress Prevent will help you prevent data breaches over email. I was trying to disagree with the idea that it puts journalists in a terrible position to receive off-the-record info, not that it would ameliorate the employers concern. Don't say "I was escorted out by armed guards" where you can say "My manager was disappointed enough to let me go". I work as a contractor on a program that just announced 10 new cities will be joining. Dont get me wrong, she shouldnt have ever told the friend and Id understand if they were worried if she told more people, but its concerning how they immediately jumped to an even worse conclusion based on nothing but their own assumptions.
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