Social Worker Gets New Nurse Fired For Assuming She Was Having An Affair With Her Father
The bizarre situation spotlighted the very real dangers of workplace gossip.
Myroslava Malovana | Shutterstock Mix-ups happen, but when they are perpetuated by gossip, they can be especially hurtful. One woman found herself in the middle of this situation when a new nurse at the hospital where she worked made an incorrect assumption about her that led to some discomfort.
The employee felt she had no choice but to go to HR, which resulted in the nurse’s termination. Now, she’s trying to determine if she was wrong for escalating the situation so far instead of trying to deal with it one-on-one, and turned to Reddit for clarity.
A new nurse accused a hospital social worker of having an affair … with her father.
A woman who introduced herself in her post as a 27-year-old social worker in a small hospital said there was a huge misunderstanding when it came to her relationship with her 51-year-old father, a charge nurse in the emergency room.
“A few weeks ago I was in the ER trying to figure out placement for an elderly patient,” she described. “When I was leaving I had a chat with my dad in the hallway. Before I left he gave me a hug and told me not to be late for dinner. I joked about how I’m going to order the most expensive steak on the menu since it’s his turn to pay.”
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Unfortunately, this exchange was overheard by the wrong person. “There was a new nurse at the nurses’ station nearby,” she said. “Pretty much everyone knows that he’s my dad. I hadn’t spoken with this new nurse much though, and she didn’t know. Apparently she thought my dad and I were having an affair based off [of] what she heard/saw. She knew my dad’s married to my mom, who brings him lunch sometimes.”
There are a lot of different things this new nurse could have done. It would have been easy to ask someone else for clarification. Instead, she decided to start spreading the word. “She immediately began gossiping to some of the other [staff] that my dad is having an affair with ‘the hospital social worker,’ AKA me,” the woman continued. “One older nurse that I’ve known for a long time immediately came to tell me.”
The social worker was so upset that she decided to take the case straight to HR, who handled it quickly.
“We were both asked to come to HR after our shift was over, along with my dad,” she shared. “Now, the HR lady [knows] that he’s my father. When [the new nurse] came in she was asked to explain, and she said that she thinks it’s terrible that we would so blatantly have an affair, and she was shocked because she thought my dad seemed like such a nice guy.”
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That was when the woman’s dad took control of the situation. “My dad then decided to speak up and explain that I’m his child,” she recounted. “The [new nurse] was mortified and apologized profusely.”
Unfortunately for her, the damage was already done. “The HR lady asked me and my dad to leave,” she explained. “They had a meeting with the unit manager and it was decided that the new nurse would be fired immediately because she was still in her 90 day probationary period.”
Research has shown that workplace gossip has its consequences.
While getting fired over this may seem a little harsh, the decision the nurse made to gossip was equally wrong. A study from the U.K.’s Durham University found that people who engaged in workplace gossip were typically viewed with negativity and even excluded in certain social situations.
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As the practice can even have “career implications,” the researchers urged employers to educate their employees about the dangers of such gossip. This is something that this hospital could definitely benefit from.
Gossiping is a natural part of life, and it's not unheard of for it to happen at work. When you're starting a new job, however, the very best thing you can do is keep quiet. Listen more than you talk, and definitely don't assume anything.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
