LinkedIn (LNKD) , the home of finding jobs and networking, has grown to become the next victim of influencer culture as the social media platform has attracted a new wave of influencers who post their insights about different workplace practices and cultures – with some even earning thousands of dollars for each post.
While LinkedIn posts made by influencers are often well-received, some can backfire miserably.
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A recent post submitted on LinkedIn by influencer Matthew Baltzell, who is founder of Cap X Media, has become the source of outrage on social media over the past few days. In the post, Baltzell shares four things he learned while firing his first employee. He claims that when he fired the employee, he kept the meeting “short and direct,” he provided them with severance, a recommendation and learned to be transparent with other employees about the harsh decision.
“After the meeting, I sent a message over Slack to inform everyone that the employee was no longer with us, without giving details. Gossip doesn’t help anyone,” wrote Baltzell in the post.
While some social media users took issue with him sharing details about a person’s firing on LinkedIn, what initially sparked controversy was the photo that he attached to the post, which was a selfie of himself smiling.
The post went viral on social media platforms Threads and X as users blasted the post for being insensitive toward the person who was fired.
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Shouldn’t you be using another person’s life-altering misfortune to publicly muse on how it personally affected you?
— kyle manzardo’s chin dimple 🇵🇸🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@HelluvaBttmCrtr) June 18, 2024
In response to a LinkedIn user who claimed that the smiling selfie attached to the post about firing someone “felt odd,” Baltzell said that he didn’t think too much about the photo when he posted it.
“Sure, I could have posted another photo or no photo,” wrote Baltzell in the comment section under his post. “Honestly though, I didn’t put to much thought into the photo like you imagine and wasn’t a ‘tactic’ like you think,” wrote Baltzell.
Baltzell did not immediately respond to TheStreet’s request for comment.
The controversial post comes at a time when thousands of workers are losing their jobs across the country due to a spike of layoffs that are plaguing multiple industries amid a tight economy.
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According to data from Warn Tracker, which tracks written notices that employers are required to give to employees before laying off a large number of workers, over 1,600 Warn notices have been filed by companies so far this year. As a result, over 130,000 employees have so far lost their jobs via layoffs.
The recent layoffs have ignited anxiety amongst U.S. employees who are currently tackling inflation and higher costs of living. Consumer prices have even increased by 20.8% since February 2020, according to Bankrate.
A recent survey by BambooHR, which polled 2,000 U.S. employees, revealed that more than 36% of employees believe that they wouldn’t be able to afford food a month after losing their job. Also, only 36% of employees revealed that they feel like their jobs are secure at work, while 28% said that they have taken on a part-time job within the last year as they fear being the next victim of layoffs.
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