Do you bag your employer in public – criticise it in front of colleagues or, worse, customers? Do your peers bag their employer at every chance and find it cathartic to rant about its shortcomings each day? Does their relentless criticism wear you out?

I’ve thought about employees bagging their company in public after a few stories or first-hand incidents this month.

Rather than tell these ratbags to pull their head in, we listen to them whinge and don’t take action when they criticise the company in wider circles. 

A student recently told me about a lecturer who happily bagged the university in class. Yes, it’s a difficult time for higher education, but why diminish the university in front of students who want to learn and enjoy the great life experience of a university degree.

That is nothing compared to the retail sector. A department store employee apologised on the weekend for the long wait, then criticised her company for not hiring enough part-time staff. She had a point – a handful of staff on a busy weekend was ludicrous – but telling me achieved nothing. She only had to say, “I apologise for the wait”. Disclosing the real reason was poor form.

I recall a few other occasions this year where staff eagerly bagged their employer in public, with no regard for damaging the brand or their self-respect. In a sluggish economy, the last thing any company can afford is lost sales because staff publicly bagged the product or service on a whim.

What’s your view?

  • Do more people bag their employer in public these days?
  • If so, what is the cause?
  • How does it make you feel when colleagues criticise the company?
  • What’s the worst example of company bagging you’ve seen?
  • Where’s the pride in working for a company and the fortitude to resign if you detest it?

Wouldn’t it be great if there was statistical evidence on when and where staff criticise their employer. My guess is some people bag their employer at least a few times each day, sometimes to whoever will listen. And that the problem is endemic in some organisations and never fully relayed to executives and board through staff satisfaction surveys.

I wonder if enough companies proactively manage the risk of staff publicly criticising the organisation. Sure, they monitor chat room and call-centre conversations, but how do they know if the shop assistant on the showroom floor bags the company on a bad day?

A former boss once told me the company’s problems should never make it to the front office. No matter how bad things got, staff had to put on a united front and talk positively about the company in front of customers. They and the company always came first.

I doubt that ethos exists in enough companies today. Sure, a few anecdotes about employees bagging their employer is not a trend, but chances are you have seen more friends, family or colleagues publicly bag employers than in years past, and not just on anonymous online forums. 

Perhaps rising job uncertainty in struggling industries is to blame. Staff worried about losing their job, having conditions cut, or doing more hours for the same pay, need to vent their frustrations publicly as a release valve.

Maybe the sea of negativity in online forums is empowering staff to bag their employer in other public settings. Companies are so busy trying to stop the torrent of online criticism that they have forgotten about the damage from just one employer bagging the product.

Some companies are also to blame. Had they built a stronger organisational culture and fostered higher employee morale, their dirty laundry would never get to the public. When you squeeze staff too hard and for too long, they can no longer bite their tongue.

Could the real problem be too much tolerance of the bagmen (and women) in the workplace? Rather than tell these ratbags to pull their head in, we listen to them whinge and don’t take action when they criticise the company in wider circles. Eventually, they recruit weak-minded peers into their circle of hate.

Someone needs to tell the bagmen: “If you are so unhappy, get a job somewhere else.” But the truth is, the only organisation that will employ them on their current salary is the one they bag every day. It’s unprofessional, ungrateful and incredibly unproductive.

I understand staff having work gripes and needing to talk to someone about it. That’s healthy. But that person is not a stranger, customer, or the same colleague day after day. If the gripe persists too long or becomes serious, the conversation should be in private with a manager.

I have seen organisations lose their way as a small circle of complainers infected staff who liked the place. The company did nothing to stop the bagmen. It wasn’t fair for customers, the organisation and, least of all, staff who wanted to come to work each day and do a good job.

Unrelenting corporate criticism was one reason I decided to start a home-based business. Not having to listen to whinging every day was surprisingly uplifting. Focusing only on the task at hand meant enjoying work again and putting all energies into helping clients rather than complainers.

A final thought: if you find yourself unable to stop bagging the company, privately or publicly, resign. Life is too short to let years of organisational bitterness damage your health and relationships with family, friends and colleagues. The biggest loser from bagging the company is always you.

Yes, resigning is scary for those with mortgages and other commitments. But it’s amazing how quickly careers recover when you no longer spend half the day thinking or complaining about your employer’s shortcomings – and remember why you loved the job in the first place.