Yahoo News This Person Is Debating Whether To Tell Their Coworker That Management Is Considering Firing Them, And The Internet Can't Decide
You've probably heard of Ask Reddit, where people can ask the internet pretty much anything they want. Well restaurant servers have their own sector of the site called Tales From Your Server where service industry employees can share horror stories, advice, encouragement, etc.
Recently, u/Familiar-Feedback801 the asked r/TalesFromYourServer page, "Should I tell my coworker they're planning on firing him?"
Here's the situation: Familiar-Feedback801 has been working at a fine dining restaurant for years, and they're about to exit stage left. However, before leaving they got some interesting information, "Our management has been very unstable. I found out they plan on firing some of our staff because they're 'lazy.'"
"One of the staff in question is someone I used to have a turbulent relationship with but am generally close to. We used to date years ago, but since then we have formed a working friendship/relationship. He is a good person and a good employee. Should I tell him he may be getting fired soon?" they asked.
Before you answer, the user shared some important information about their own employment situation to add some context. "I have plenty of references, so I'm not worried about that. I also know he would never tell anyone it was me who told him. It's just one of those awkward things where I don't know if it's my place, in case it's 'all talk.'"
Responders were split, and presented some solid reasons why:
"If he is a friend or acquaintance you care for, absolutely. I will always be more loyal to people than a company or a restaurant," user SimplyKendra wrote.
Those who voted yes in regards to telling their coworker agreed that employees should look out for each other.
"Tell them for sure. Give the person a head start on the job search and saving/making as much money as he can now. This will be very helpful information in this job market, and he can search for a new job while still employed," user ChefNeurotic wrote.
"Yes, I would tell him if I were you," user sixhundredkinaccount agreed. "But if you want to protect yourself try telling him anonymously. Maybe leave a note in a place he’ll find it."
Some people like user thatburghfan suggested ways to tell him that were just safe enough to leave the job unscathed.
"I would just tell him you overheard that they were going to make some staffing cuts. That should be enough info to get the point across," they said.
Then there's user draizetraine who thinks this isn't even a conversation, "Why wouldn’t you tell him?"
On the other hand, there were people like user Mackhealth1 who had a very detailed answer to draizetraine's question, and suggested the original poster stay as far away from this situation as humanly possible.
"Not. Your. Business. I'm going against many of the comments here, but I've seen this deteriorate. Depending on your social relationship just be prepared to be there for him, but this is not your business. I know it sounds cold-hearted, but these things can spiral out of control. What if the crazy management changes their minds?" they said.
Speaking from experience, user zzzongdude added: "This is the right thing to do, but I've had situations where I warned another employee about the possibility of getting fired because I heard a manager talking about people possibly getting fired... and he went around telling everyone I was threatening him... I think it's better to just stay out of it."
And finally, there were people who acknowledged there's a lot of grey area here, and begged Familiar-Feedback801 to move cautiously.
"The reason I'm advising caution is you said you and this person used to have a turbulent relationship. There's no guarantee just because they've been chummy with you to make things easier at work that they won't turn on you and throw you under the bus," user JupiterSkyFalls wrote.
"It all depends on your relationship with this coworker. I've been on the other side of this where I was about to be fired and my coworkers, some of whom I was extremely close to, kept their mouths shut fearing retaliation," user JG307 wrote.
"I get where they were coming from now, but at the time it was an incredibly hurtful betrayal. Not that they didn't choose me over their own jobs (I would never ask that of anyone) but that they didn't trust me to take the heads up and still protect them."
Tell us what you would do in the comments. Do you owe your coworker a heads up, or is it better to be safe than sorry?
Some replies have been edited for length and clarity.
