He pretended like he didn't see, but we both know he did. How much trouble am I in? I don't want to be fired before I have something lined up - but now I'm scared that's a possibility.
And no, I don't spend my time at work doing non-work related stuff, this is my luck that one time I do something like this I get caught.
Hello, I was a sales manager in the Scottsdale office at Web.com. I have seen employees over the years looking at job postings and even applying during work hours. There were a few instances where (due to other issues with that employee) I looped in HR.
HR informed me that all I was able to do was give them a warning for not working during work hours. Worst case scenario - you receive a write up so don't do it again. It would be illegal to terminate you for that after a first offense.
Additionally, when a manager terminates employees for "not working during work hours" the employee can turn around and sue the company if that same manager has allowed other reps to waste time elsewhere - even if it's not the same waste of time. Trust me, you're fine. I'll monitor this post and if you receive documentation or threats of being terminated I'll walk you through how to combat it.
You cannot be fired for simply being proactive for the inevitable. The reason your manager acted like he didn't see what you were researching is because he is most likely doing the same thing.