Table of Contents
Social media has changed the way people communicate at home and at work. Some of the social media include sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram. Social media had not only changed the way people communicate, but social media showed itself as a great opportunity for businesses. Businesses use social media in the areas of public relations, internal and external communications, recruiting, organizational learning, collaboration, and more.
Social media is one of the most important parts of today’s business. It is hard to think of any business not having some sort of social media exposure in the workplace. Some exposure might be personal, some work-related. Different types of social media became part of the business’s operations. This technological advancement and invasion of social media into the businesses has been so rapid that it has left employers wondering about the protection and proper use of social media at the workplace. The laws and regulations are constantly catching up. The widespread use of social media has prompted employers to question as to how to get business benefits out of these platforms and how to ensure that their employees are using social media for the right reason. Employers also need to ensure that their employees use of social media while at work is neither distracting nor potentially harmful to the organization.
Problems Related to Social Media in the Workplace
Employees’ improper utilization of social media at work and during their working time raises not only concerns about lost productivity. Employees likewise may inappropriately utilize social media to insult or harass co-workers. A much more noteworthy concern is that employees may abuse social media to misuse exclusive organization information, for example, confidential information or trade secret.
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One of the biggest concerns using social media at work is that it encourages people to share their personal or work information. Indeed, even the most careful high-level security-aware and benevolent employee can give away information they not supposed to. Many times, employees are not aware of how their actions while on social media may compromise their personal, but also the company’s security. They may be not paying enough attention or are just not educated enough in terms as to how a simple click on a received suspicious link or a downloaded application can have consequences in a virus infecting the company’s or their own computer and the network (Connex staff, 2017, August 1, para 4).
Another concern arises from cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that is done via the use of technology. It can occur anywhere in private life or the workplace. It is intended to hurt or embarrass someone. Often cyberbullying is done in secret, the person or group behind it is anonymous. Cyberbullies create false profiles, names, send anonymous messages, or threats. They spread rumors, block communication with others, steal passwords and alter information. The impact of cyberbullying can be enormous due to the wide and fast spread of information, which can be dangerous and hurt a lot of people. Cyberbullying can have many forms such as photos, videos, text messages, and their content can be shared with many people and they can take part in it as well. Another reason why it is so concerning is that a lot of this content is easy to find and can be searched on a web browser like Bing or Google. This shared content is hard to remove due to being shared online in different places, and the person being bullied can have a hard time escaping the content, especially if they use technology.
Use of social media at work may also produce unwanted familiarity between an employer, and an employee. An employee may feel pressure to accept an invitation request to be, for example, a “Facebook friend”. This acceptance of friendship may create not only awkward circumstances at work, but it can create the potential for employer liability. An employer with such access may gain knowledge, and information about employee’s private and social activities and another personal information employee might not want to share. There is also potential that an employer may want to participate in inappropriate communications that can lead to the unwanted awkward work environment, discrimination or sexual harassment.
Following the unwanted familiarity, the potential legal issue may result from the employer’s non-neutral comments on social media where the employer may comment on the employee who left the company. On sites such as LinkedIn, this situation may happen while giving requested references about the previous employee.
Policy Guidance
An employer should perform legal reviews and establish policies that will address social media use in the workplace, especially if employees are allowed access to social media at the workplace. These policies will establish and prevent the abuse of social media in the workplace as well as prevent and reduce employer’s risk. An employer should define what social media is, that way employees know what is covered. This policy should define its purpose and employers’ objectives. The benefits of social media should be communicated. If social media is used for employers’ purposes, the responsible party must be outlined. The policies should define confidential information and what is appropriate posting and what are the consequences if not followed. It must contain the terms of use of social media during work time and outside of the company that could be associated with the company. These policies should also outline the impact and consequences of violation of the policy.
Conclusion
The online and social media trend is not going away or diminishing in the workplace. The laws covering its utilization by employers and employees are continually being created and are evolving to fit the next technological improvements. It is important to know what laws we can apply in our business. It is also important how the laws are applied and if they fit best the business and employees. Businesses should review their policies affecting social media, and employee conduct on social media, and continually reviewing them during a year. The policies must comply with federal laws, rules, and regulations by the EEOC and NLRB, as well as any state laws that may apply. Also, employers must be careful while posting disciplinary action against an employee. Employers must make sure that they don’t violate Section 7 of the NLRA, which provides protection for the employee.
References
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Cheney, G., May, S., & Munishi, D., (2011). The handbook of communication ethics (pp. 206). Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qHCQAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA204&ots=zAHqMrFi8E&sig=3NYUTU5WZ_4PM9NlDcQqUDVnnCM#v=onepage&q&f=false - Cyberstalking, (n.d.). Is There a Law Against Cyberstalking or Cyberharassment? Retrieved from https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/is-there-a-law-against-cyberstalking-or-cyberharassment-31710
Farrell, J., (2012, November 7). Social media takes workplace harassment to new levels.
Retrieved from https://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Discrimination/Sexual-Harassment/zns-Social-Media-Takes-Workplace-Harassment-New-Le/ - Lampe C., Ellison N.B., (2016, June 22). Social Media and the Workplace. New platforms can be tools for connection with colleagues and outside experts but can also serve as distractions while on the job. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/06/22/social-media-and-the-workplace/
- “Policy Guidance”. (2018, March 19) Social Media: What are the pros and cons of using social media in the workplace? What should we include in a policy? Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/socialnetworkingsitespolicy.aspx
- Thompson, M.F., (n.d.). Social Media Guide for Employers, What’s Protected, the Pitfalls and Traps to Avoid. Retrieved from http://hrprofessionalsmagazine.com/social-media-guide for-employers-whats-protected-the-pitfalls-and-traps-to-avoid/
