19-year-old employee is found using work equipment and a public social media account to bash her boss, company, and paycheck, now her boss needs to fire her: 'Hopefully, she’ll learn from her mistakes.'

Author image for María Cetra
María Cetra • Writer
Jul 12, 2026 11:15 AM EDT

You can be very good at your job, but unfortunately, some mistakes cannot be allowed.

A 19-year-old girl stands out because she's intelligent and proves to be good at her job. A manager sees that and decides that when they change companies, she should come as well. The girl gets excited about this opportunity, but this doesn't last long. This young employee, who was so bright for some things, is dumb for others and doesn't bother to care for her job. She performs well, and no critics about her is formed, but she does use the company equipment to search for things like "I hate my boss". This is not only flagged by IT, but also brought to her boss directly as a concern. Her boss starts looking into it and finds a public social media account filled with posts bashing her manager, the company, and the amount that she gets paid.

When you are a great employee who is actually good at their job, there are certain benefits that you get that other workers don't. This applies to mistakes. When a normal employee makes a mistake, that can be cause enough to be fired on the spot. But when an amazing employee makes the same exact mistake, they just get a calm warning not to repeat it. This system works because it rewards good workers and protects them, but it has its flaws. In this Reddit story, for example, even though they have a great young employee who has proven to be valuable, they still need to fire her. She could argue that it was her first mistake, that she has never caused problems before, and that it will never happen again. But unfortunately, the mistake is big enough for her to get directly fired.

It's actually quite sad this girl's story. What she did was extremely dumb, but it didn't seem like such a huge problem. Maybe a warning would have been enough. Luckily for her, she's 19 years old. She has a long life ahead of her and an especially long work path. 
 

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  • 01
    I'm 28F and I work at a tech company. A few years ago, I met this girl, now 19F, at another job. I thought she was really good at what she did, so when I had the chance, I brought her onto my team. She's been doing a solid job so far. No complaints about her work. The issue is that IT flagged some searches she made on her work computer. I honestly didn't want
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  • 02
    Model image of a phone with social media apps installed in it.
    via dole777

    Model image of a phone with social media apps installed in it. 

  • 03
    to know, because yeah, privacy, but my company has strict policies about this stuff. The searches were kind of ridiculous, like "my boss is unbearable." Then I found out she has a public Twitter account where she talks a lot of cr p about the company and about me specifically. Now HR is asking me to make a serious decision.
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  • 04
    On one hand, she should've known better. You can't use company equipment and public social media to bash your boss and employer. That's just dumb. On the other hand, I feel bad because she seems to really need the money, and she's actually good at her job. So, AITA for wanting to fire her? EDIT: I'm her boss, and I'm responsible for her. And what she said about me was
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  • 05
    stuff like "my boss is so tacky" and "my boss needs to touch up her salon dye job." So yeah, mostly comments about my appearance, which I was honestly embarrassed to even mention lol. As for the company, it was more normal workplace complaints, like salary and stuff. UPDATE: Here's my update: I made a decision. I'm going to fire her.
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  • 06
    I feel like my own job and my judgment as a leader are being tested here too. However, I was allowed to give her feedback together with HR, since they need to be in the room. If I see genuine remorse from her, and I honestly think I will because I don't believe she's a bad person, I'm willing to write her a recommendation letter. I know a lot of people will probably judge me and call me a
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  • 07
    doormat for that, but I think it's the best thing to do. Hopefully, she'll learn from her mistakes.
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  • 08
    Visual representation of different social media icons.
    via Mariia Shalabaieva

    Visual representation of different social media icons. 

  • 09
    BraveWarrior-55 19 is a good age to learn discretion, not biting the hand that feeds you, and interpersonal skills to communicate needs. Once she is fired, that will hopefully propel her to mature a bit.
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  • 10
    UniversalLilies i don't see how you don't fire her. She knows she needs money, and she should have been smarter than to air her dirty laundry in public and on her company computer.
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  • 11
    bi_polar2bear HR needs to decide if the employee is breaking rules about making disparaging remarks. Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences. If rules were broken, then a write up is at least warranted.
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  • 12
    Appropriate-Factor-4 the question is, why would you want someone like that in your team?
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  • 13
    Tabby_Mc Is there room for a disciplinary, with final written warning for gross misconduct? It might give her room to improve whilst knowing she's really messed up.
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  • 14
    mikey-from-the-block Guy at my old company lost his job for complaining about it on social media. NTA. It'll be a good learning experience for the lass
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  • 15
    unicorn67tf NTA just fire her. She has the opportunity to learn a few lessons: Don't use your work equipment for personal use Don't use that work equipment to PUBLICLY talk sh about your job and manager Actions have consequences. I personally wouldn't be able to
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  • 16
    manage someone who actively bashes me on a public forum. Like ?? This is a no brainer You can find someone else to fill the job a 19 year old is doing. I promise.
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  • 17
    Alternative_Roll_925 Maybe it's the teacher in me...she's 19 now? This could be an opportunity for her to learn. I'd send her a message like this, copied to HR, IT, and anyone else in the chain that needs to see it: "IT noticed some unusual activity on your device, and when we looked into it, we saw that you're in violation
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  • 18
    of company policy (see screen shots below). Since this is your first mistake, and your performance is otherwise good, this is a warning. Any further such violations will result in your termination.” Include screen shots so she knows you know, and refer to the policy she is violating. Or, give her the axe.
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  • 19
    zeiaxar Like ngl, I think what she posted was totally normal stuff most employees would rant about. But most people are smart enough not to post such stuff online (or at least make it so that nobody from work can see it), let alone use company time and equipment to do so. Fire her. She's 19, and it's better she
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  • 20
    learn this lesson now instead of getting away with it and potentially escalating later.
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