Note to Self: Don't Claim Depression and Then Enjoy Yourself, You Could Lose Sick Leave Benefits!

I read this article today and found it quite interesting. Apparently this gal had an issue because she is on long term disability and posted pictures of herself having a good time. Yikes! How dare she claim to be depressed and actually enjoy herself?! Now, having said that, she worked for IBM. IBM has the strangest sick leave policy I've ever seen, one that could lend itself to abuse. Basically, an IBM employee can be sick one of every two years. Odd, hunh? You have to work with their doctors and such. But once you jump through hoops, you get 60% of your pay for up to a year.

Now, if you should manage to get approved for such a sick-leave plan, don't post pictures of yourself on Facebook that could make people think you're bilking the system - even if you aren't. It reminds me of the guy that I posted about a few months ago who lost a job offer after tweeting out of turn... Somehow, we need to realize that it's a brave new world and what we do on-line can affect our lives off-line. If you don't want the whole world to know about it, don't post it on-line.

By the time we're about 10, most of us have developed control over what we say and when we say it. Few people suffer from verbal diarrhea to the extent that they just say every random, stupid thing that pops into their mind (and I assure you many really stupid things pop into my head every day). However somehow we haven't figured out that, just as self-censorship is necessary for our verbal dialogue, we need to self-censor what we invite the world to see in our lives. So, note to self... when I'm in a sweet position living it up on my employer, don't post photos on Facebook.

Happy Brave New World!