Facing Consequences for Forum Posts: How Should I Navigate This Workplace Dilemma?

Query Regarding Forum Posting Practices and Consequences

I have been working in a research-oriented profile for more than 11 years. I have been making some posts on public forums in a very supportive manner for the organization. The nature of our work is very research-oriented, and we make posts on public forums to gain more insights into the product.

Recently, I made a post wherein I shared the customers' inputs regarding a particular behavior of the product. The customer, who is an active member of the forum, brought it to our company's notice and said his information was leaked. I immediately agreed and informed my senior managers and above that we have been doing this for the past 11 years, and my managers were also aware of this practice. The intent behind this was to get expert opinions and drive the problem towards a quick solution.

They decided to terminate me, but after considering my experience, integrity, and value added to the organization, they came up with a punishment where I had to take a pay cut and a designation cut (demotion) for six months. They said I would also not be eligible for the annual bonus, which is a hefty sum in itself.

I agreed to all those because I really love my job and the nature of the research work we do. A week after I rejoined, some other facts about my previous posts using another ID came to light. I made it very clear to the group of directors that we have been doing this as a practice for the past 12 years or so. I also received some email instructions from the past where my superiors were talking about posting in this particular forum regarding our cases, etc.

I hope that they will not revisit my case and give me a more severe punishment because I put all the facts clearly in an email and also signed their warning letter stating there would be no further shortcomings from my end.

Any thoughts or advice on this, please?

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Dear Stevieglee, I do not know which country you are from. However, assuming you are from a democratic country where principles of natural justice are valued, I write this post to provide my comments on a few paragraphs:

Research-Oriented Work and Public Forum Posts

The nature of work is very research-oriented, and we make posts in a public forum to gain more insights into our product. Recently, I made a post where I shared customer feedback regarding a particular aspect of the product.

Comments: Did you disclose the customer's name? Will this disclosure impact the customer's business in any way? Did you violate any non-disclosure clauses in the contract agreement? If there was no such clause in the agreement, why should the customer raise an objection?

The customer, who is an active member of the forum, brought to our company's attention that his information was leaked. I immediately acknowledged this and informed my senior managers that we have been following this practice for the past 11 years, and my managers were also aware of it. The intention behind this was to seek expert opinions and expedite problem-solving.

Comments: How long have you been dealing with this customer? If you have been sharing research work in public forums for 11 years, why was this not included in the contract agreement initially?

Consequences and Reflections

They decided to penalize me, but considering my experience, integrity, and contributions to the organization, they imposed a punishment where I had to take a pay cut and a demotion for six months. Additionally, I was informed that I would not be eligible for the annual bonus, which is a substantial sum itself.

Comments: "Disclosure of company information" is a single misconduct (if proven). Why then are three punishments being given for a single offense? In a country like India, such a severe punishment can potentially be challenged in a court of law.

I hope they will not reconsider my case and impose a harsher punishment, as I have outlined all the facts clearly in an email and signed their warning letter confirming there would be no further shortcomings from my end.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Hi Dinakar, Thanks for the response. I did not leak any customer information, but I shared some observations he made on our product in a public forum, of which he is an active member. Other members of the forum blew it out of proportion, though this customer was pretty composed. There is a meltdown on the issue, though the ultimate intent was to serve the customer in the best interest.

They said given the nature of the offense and the fact that complications may still arise from this, they gave me three punishments, of which the first two will be revoked after six months. I will get my designation back and also the pay. However, I will not be eligible for the bonus.

I was told that a Senior Manager from another location took this decision but revisited it based on my track record, value add, integrity, etc.

This was after I wrote an email to the Board of Directors situated overseas (I'm from India). I am ever so thankful to them because I love this profile, and though I had other opportunities, I did not take them.

I also told them that it was a norm to represent the company or seek expert opinion on such public forums, which was passed on as a respectable practice that we can exercise when there is a stalemate in a problem situation. I now have email proofs of the same. I'm only looking at the eventuality of people identifying my posts using other IDs in the same or different forums because after this incident came to light, I told them I shall never make a post on a public forum about the company's product again.

I hope that I'm only tilting against the windmill and was assured by my managers too, but I do not want to take a chance as I have already gone through a lot. I just want this triumphant feeling of coming back to life to stay for a long time while I serve the organization to the best of my abilities.

Regards,

Dear Stevieglee,

I am "Dinesh Divekar" and Dinakar. I request you to spell my name correctly.

Timing of Forum Engagement

Gentleman, if you are from India, then why are you writing on this forum now? You should have approached this forum well before you were awarded the punishment. Before awarding the punishment, did your company conduct a domestic enquiry? If not, then even now you can challenge the punishment. Awarding punishment without conducting a domestic enquiry is a violation of Article 411 of the Constitution of India.

Analyzing the Punishment

Regarding your acceptance of the punishment, when I analyze the incident from the theory of Organizational Behavior, I find that you have demonstrated affective commitment of the highest kind. Yes, every worker should have affective commitment. But in your case, it appears to be excessive.

Recommendations

I recommend that you approach your company to revoke the punishment. If they do not agree, then start looking for another job. The severity of the punishment or the decision to award the punishment itself shows that the management does not value you as much as you value them. Once you secure another job, you may file a suit against the company for not revoking the punishment. While the case may drag on for a considerable time, you can ask for suitable compensation for the mental harassment that arose from the punishment.

Commitment as a Two-Way Street

Commitment is a two-way street. Management should also show commitment to their employees as much as employees show to their organization. In your case, they should have defended you when the customer approached for the disclosure of information in the public forum. To "satisfy" the customer, they not only bent over backward but also made you a scapegoat.

Final Comments

It is not just technical knowledge that matters. You should have taken cognizance of the disclosure norms of the company before writing articles in the public forums. You should have obtained formal permission for writing articles in the public forums. This explicit written permission could have avoided the imbroglio you are in. Under the provisions of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, you could have ensured that the clause of disclosure of information is included or excluded in the contract agreement.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Regarding the punishment, I informed my managers that it was me who posted. Consequently, the inquiry was deprioritized, and capital punishment seemed to follow. However, when I included the sequence of events, highlighting that I kept my manager informed after the shortcoming but received no follow-up, the customer went berserk on forums. Therefore, I presume that the termination order was revoked, and other punishments were awarded.

My only question is, if other posts from other IDs come to light (which I already told them I did and have been doing, with some emails in support from my previous managers), will they revisit the punishment and add to the penalty?

I agreed and assured them that I would never post on forums again unless as an official representative. Most of my colleagues, both overseas and local, believed that such a revisit never happened in the company and were quite happy for me, as there were many positive words and emails advocating for revisiting the earlier decision.

Thanks for the advice and guidance. I hope the affective commitment will now be mutual, and I will continue to contribute to the best of my ability and passion.

To avoid further consequences, if possible, try to delete those postings from the forums. You can also write to the site administrators of the respective website to remove your postings with valid justifications. This will help prevent any future troubles that may arise.

Moving forward, if you promptly delete such postings once you resolve or find a remedy, you can save yourself from encountering similar issues in the future.

Regards.

Further to what Dinesh Divekar mentioned and suggested, all I can see is that you seem to be living in a make-believe world of your own... No pun intended, please. I have seen quite a few instances of hard-core techies simply being forgetful or ignorant of the other aspects or factors of any role they might be in. In fact, many Nobel laureates would be good examples of this trait.

In today's world that puts commercial interests far above technical interests (since you are into research, I am sure you know it better), it's in your interest to follow some basic precepts or rules of the game—not so much to follow the other sheep but to safeguard your interests.

Options Available to You

The only options you seem to have now are:

1. Like Kamaraj suggested, simply delete the postings that you think could cause future trouble for you.
2. Look for a new job as soon as possible.

All the best.

Regards,
TS

Thank you for the input. If it were about finding a new job, I wouldn't have tried so hard to reverse the termination in the first place. I agree that I could be tilting at windmills as I made all the facts clear, which prompted a review of the decision. Furthermore, I have also gathered email evidence that supports my position. So, hopefully, as you guys suggested, things will fall into place.