My job description includes my skills, not my Instagram password.

I’m Kelsey, and I recently learned the hard way that “culture fit” is often just code for “total access.” It started when my manager asked to follow me on Instagram. My account is personal—mostly just photos of my friends, my cat, and my weekend trips. I politely told her that I prefer to keep my work and personal life separate. She laughed it off, calling my attitude “old-fashioned,” and I thought that was that.

Two weeks later, I was called into a surprise meeting and fired. The reason? They said I wasn’t a “cultural fit.” My performance was never questioned; in fact, I had been meeting all my targets. I left the office in a daze, replaying every interaction in my head.

Eventually, the truth came out. A former coworker told me that our boss checked every employee’s Instagram stories daily to monitor their social lives and habits. She believed this “surveillance” helped her support the team better. Because I refused to give her a window into my private life, I was labeled as “not a team player.” I wasn’t fired because I couldn’t do the job; I was fired because I refused to let my boss into my living room.