A nonprofit employee was fired just four days into a new job after private messages expressing concerns about the relocation of their office to a homeless shelter were shared with management. The nonprofit, which plans to open a temporary housing shelter for recently incarcerated or mentally ill men with substance abuse histories, had moved the employee’s clerical and data management office from the corporate headquarters to the shelter site.
Office Move to Shelter Sparks Employee Concerns
The employee said they were blindsided by the move and messaged a coworker about their discomfort. “I didn’t want to work in a homeless shelter in the hood because it’s not what I signed up to do and the benefits aren’t enough to work with my safety at risk,” the employee explained. Shortly after, the employee was confronted by their boss and the executive director and was terminated after the private messages were seen.
Reddit Users Weigh In on Workplace Dynamics and Management Reactions
Details of the incident were shared on Reddit, where users offered insights into the situation. One user commented, “And it may have been that the coworker asked a manager if it was wise to put you in a shelter location because you mentioned that it concerned you. Sometimes management uses good coworkers’ honest inquiries against you even though the coworker did not know that they would retaliate against you for wanting to be safe. I saw the whole picture one time and it seemed like management had a hair trigger interpretation, always for the worst.”
Another user added, “I wouldn’t be surprised if coworkers would view each other as competition to step on. You have learned an important lesson in corporate politics.”
The employee acknowledged that sharing private concerns with a coworker was a rookie mistake and highlighted the experience as a cautionary tale about workplace discretion.