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What's posted outside of work can cost you dearly: personal behavior can lead to dismissal. Learn more.

Written by Sara Aquino
Published 12/09/2025 às 20:38
Learn how personal aspects can lead to dismissal, even without just cause. Experts explain when personal behaviors interfere with employment and impact professional development.
Learn how personal aspects can lead to dismissal, even without just cause. Experts explain when personal behaviors interfere with employment and impact professional development. Image: Leonardo Concon
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Learn how personal aspects can lead to dismissal, even without just cause. Experts explain when personal behaviors interfere with employment and impact professional development.

An employee's personal life can end up generating dismissal, experts say, if private actions conflict with the company's values. Human resources consultants and labor lawyers observe this phenomenon, noting that while many believe only technical performance matters, personal attitudes also play a role.

This can occur even when the event is not directly linked to the professional environment or during working hours.

The main reason is that companies are increasingly demanding coherence between personal life and institutional mission.

What can constitute dismissal due to personal life?

  • Personal behavior that clashes with the company's values, such as public disrespect or conduct perceived as contrary to the institutional mission, may lead to dismissal.
  • Companies have the right to dismiss employees without just cause, that is, without alleging anything specific, as long as they observe labor rights.
  • Even if the incident occurs outside of work — in personal moments — it can compromise the employee's reputation among colleagues, employers, and society. 

Can dismissal be for just cause? What's the difference?

Justified dismissal (“just cause”) requires proof of a serious act provided for by law, such as moral offense or conduct that violates company rules.

On the other hand, unfair dismissal, although legal, does not require a specific reason; it is enough for the employer to decide to dismiss the employee, respecting rights such as advance notice and compensation.

How this affects professional life and reputation

Experts emphasize that personal and professional lives are no longer completely separate. Private actions that become public—through social media or the press—can weigh heavily on an employer.

Roberto Recinella, a human capital management specialist, states that “people are hired for their technical skills and fired for their behavioral skills.”

Companies seek to preserve their own image

According to experts, when the personal life of a professional conflicts with the principles of the company, dismissal may be the measure chosen to protect institutional reputation.

This happens because organizations understand that the image of their employees directly reflects on the brand, affecting customers, investors and even credibility in the market.

Necessary care to avoid negative consequences

  • Maintain consistency between personal behavior and company values, avoiding public exposure that could generate criticism.
  • Review your use of social media: posts and interactions with public repercussions generate visibility—positive or negative.
  • Be clear about the company's internal policies — what it expects in terms of ethical conduct, posture, and image.

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Sara Aquino

Generalist Pharmacist and Writer. I write about jobs, careers, science, technology, energy, geopolitics, and economics. I'm passionate about reading and writing.

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