My Husband Cheated on Me, and I Posted about It on LinkedIn
Scroll through LinkedIn, and you will find a mix of rampant virtue signaling, cringeworthy titles, and stories that are more appropriate for Facebook. Your feed is probably rife with motivational nonsense, corporate shilling, and abject narcissism disguised as positivity and healthy self-celebration. Or, it’s a forum for “humblebragging,” with people being “honored” or being nominated for some unknown award, receiving a promotion, or starting a new job. When did this happen? LinkedIn used to be a place for serious and useful content that related to career management and for sharing best practices in your field or industry.
I noticed a decline in the quality of content that was being shared on the platform once the pandemic hit. It seemed as though many members took to LinkedIn to vent their frustrations or offer motivational advice to others. The phenomenon snowballed, and now it is out of control. I cannot open LinkedIn without being assaulted by this content, which is, to be blunt, inappropriate and out of context.
It can be easy to become desensitized to these types of posts, come to expect them and find them to be mundane or pedestrian. Let me assure you, there is nothing “ordinary” about the content of this type of content other than its frequency. One of the most important life lessons is knowing your audience and tailoring your messaging so that it will resonate with that audience. All of these cringey posts fail that very basic test.
Here are a few examples of egregious, inappropriate content that has been published on LinkedIn:
I told my sister she was fat and that’s cool.
Aside from the fact that this never happened (which is obvious), what does this have to do with being a leader? Zero! In fact, leaders conduct themselves with empathy, which this guy clearly lacks.
Work-life balance. Bad.
Nothing screams, “I run a sweatshop!” like someone on a public forum mocking a candidate for wanting a little balance between work and personal life! Good job! I’m sure your team just LOVES working for you!
Let me tell you about my recent surgery and, oh, here are my meds.
It’s great that you have the support of your management team as you recover from surgery. But the whole world of LinkedIn doesn’t need to know about what surgery you had or how the “intrinsic value of a supportive organization” is more important than money. Besides, a supportive organization is one that pays its employees fairly.
I’m in the pool, and I am only interested in a remote role so that I can stay here in the pool.
First of all, let’s all agree that we don’t post photos of or pimp out our minor children on social media. It can be dangerous. Beyond that, this photo says, “I will lounge in the pool with my baby while I’m supposed to be working.” Just. Don’t. Do. It.
Child labor is cool, and a carefree childhood is totally overrated.
“I don’t have kids.” That’s obvious. Children are not required to perform paid labor, and that’s a good thing. Let’s keep it that way.
My family member’s medical emergency provided me an opportunity to shill my company’s products!
Your loved one’s healthcare crisis has nothing to do with your employer and its products. It’s about your family member’s medical condition ONLY. Not every life experience needs to be related to your work.
And finally: My husband cheated on me, so I wrote about it on LinkedIn.
There are many topics that are meant to be kept private. We don’t need to know about your spouse’s infidelity or how you connect it to “practicing the drill” when presented with stressful situations.
I could go on here, but I think you get the point. I’m pretty sure that a lot of people are nodding along right now. It needed to be said, so I just did.
Wheatman Out