Supervisor texting coworkers

dhubert

My fellow manager in our 2nd clinic received a frantic text from an employee who said she was being taken to jail on a Saturday. She had tried calling her x6 with no response and finally sent text about not being able to be at work on that Monday as she was on her way to jail. Althought this manager could not answer the telephone to find out the actual events, this manager then text several staff members to alert them she was being taken to jail and was unsure of why.

The employee is involved in an ongoing personal dispute with family members over a house fire. I was told the circumstances of the issue and understand and the employee has appropriate paperwork to "backup" her problem.

This fellow manager then came to work on Monday, told all of the staff she was in jail and then allowed and actually asked staff to look on the internet and see what she was in jail for. Some of the employees that were text the previous Saturday came up to other coworkers and said "how do you like your partner in jail".

I am appalled and feel that this was out of any character line of anyone, let alone your trusted supervisor but am unsure how to proceed. The employee has returned to work today and I am here to buffer any issues.

NaeNae55

I would start with confidentiality and trust. Even if the arrest was in the newspaper and for a horrible crime, it is not up to her supervisor to broadcast it. If anything, the supervisor should have downplayed the event to protect the employee from gossip, not to mention wasted business time. The supervisor needs training, and he/she needs to find a way to rebuild trust. I know I if I worked for this manager I would be worried about what they are saying about me to others.

If you have a good enough relationship with this manager go to them directly and voice your concerns. If not, then I would bring up your concerns with someone higher and then step away from it.

Good luck!

sonny

I agree with Nae and would never share another thing with the Manager. Is that Manager the ee's supervisor?

Sharon McKnight SPHR

[quote=dhubert;724992]My fellow manager in our 2nd clinic received a frantic text from an employee who said she was being taken to jail on a Saturday. She had tried ...


Your first post! Welcome to the Forum. :welcome:
Sharon

dwertz

I would recommend that the situation be reported to HR. There may be company policies regarding the sharing of information regarding an employees personal life. In addition, there may be a policy that talks about using the internet to find out employee's personal information. I think there's a lot more here than just bad taste.