Just a vent, I guess. I recently changed jobs, but am still friendly with people at my former company.
Well, I guess I got out in the nick of time, because they just laid off the entire department. I started getting messages from friends immediately after it happened. For whatever stupid reason, I felt compelled to let a person in a different department know about the layoff, so that they could keep their head on a swerve. This company is notoriously tight-lipped about most things, so I did not know if the news had traveled to other employees yet. I also hate the fact that employers have the expectation of a 2 weeks notice, when they can fire an entire team with zero warning and still sleep easy at night. It was an attempt to level the playing field, I suppose.
So anyways, the person I contacted was clearly dumber than I had previously realized. They immediately started freaking out and saying that they were scared, and were thinking about calling the HR rep. I attempted to alleviate their concerns to the best of my ability, and strongly discouraged talking to HR. They did not listen, immediately called HR, and told HR that it was specifically me who had told them.
Now I'm being told by the company that I'm violating their non-disparagement clause by spreading fear and misinformation, and they will seek enforcement if I don't stop. Cool, I was done anyways. The seeds of doubt have been sowed, and I'm confident that the company will continue to dig its own grave regardless of my actions.
But it was a lesson to me. Some people are stupid, some people are rats (don't be a fucking rat), and it can be difficult to tell the difference. I still can't tell the difference. And not everyone at work is your friend – especially HR.