February 24, 2020 |
Controlling social media use of company employees is nearly an impossible task as there will always be someone who goes against the grain. However, making sure that rules and regulations are clear; minor mishaps may be able to be prevented.
Social media can count as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even personal blog or vlog pages (what some do not consider social media). When working for a company, social media posts need to remain professional at all times. Although no one can entirely control what you post, if you want to remain employed, it may be a good idea to become familiar with your company’s social media policy.
It is important to understand why companies may feel that social media is nothing but a burden on them and their employees. When employees become friends and decide to become friends online as well, work lives and personal lives can become intertwined. Once employees become friends online, more and more ‘comfortable conversation’ will be relayed to one another. Comfortable conversation can be described as ‘shop talk’ on the web. Personal things may get discussed and work events may be revisited via commenting on the web. This can lead into a positive and ongoing innocent friendship, or it can begin to cause issues within the company itself.
When employees are outside of work, they are usually not held accountable at work for their personal lives at home; usually. However, if an employee posts something on their personal social media account that is generally offensive to the company, the employer may be able to take action. If inappropriate content presents itself, employees can be held accountable. Any content that an employer feels can be used against them should be collected in its entirety and kept in a file.
Employees have the right to post what they want and are generally protected by free speech. They can get in trouble if their posts cause harm to the company’s business. The burden of proof would be on the business to prove that the post caused harm to them in some way.
This can be a sticky issue when employees post about the company they work for. While employer’s options may be limited for handling these posts, most readers will recognize that the views expressed are those of the employee and not that of the company.
Any behavior that is malicious or causes harm to the company’s business may be grounds for employee termination. If the misconduct does not affect the company’s values, then the case can either be ignored or discussed with the employee to see if a better persona can be projected on their online profiles to avoid any setback within the workplace. It is important to relay to the employee what the social media policy of the company is prior to hiring to keep this issue very clear from the beginning.
When posting on personal social media pages, if the post is of praise or of promoting the company, it is important to note that you must disclose that you are an employee of that company. Not sharing that you are employed by that company can become unfair to competitors because employees themselves are posting good reviews, not actual customers. On another note, if an employee chooses to discuss their personal company wages or other terms and conditions of employment online, they may do so as long as they are not degrading the company name. Posting any sort of damaging comments about the company can immediately result in employee termination. Staying up to date with social media policies will ensure that each employee knows what kind of posts are deemed appropriate in relation to the company itself on their social media accounts.
Connecting with a fellow employee on social media can seem harmless at first but can ultimately cost one or both of them their jobs if things take a wrong turn. When employees become friends on social media, they can begin to feel a little more comfortable conversing than they would when they are in the office. This can potentially cause bullying and harassment to occur. If two employees that are friends on social media have an off day at work, they can resort to discussing it over social media together. If this discussion rises to the level of bullying or harassment, they may begin to put not only the company name at risk but their jobs entirely. Complaining about an employer or another employee online can end up being shared by multiple people who can ultimately bring it to the company’s attention. Any sort of bullying and harassment is prohibited within any company, and if inappropriate information is found and brought to their employer’s attention this can cause both employees to lose their jobs. Specific examples as to what can be deemed social media harassment should be included within the company policy to avoid any confusion for employees.
When using a company name within a personal post, one must be very careful about the information they are about to disclose. Leaking confidential company information is absolutely prohibited. Posting anything that was discussed in a board meeting, posting release dates of a company product, or any type of employee misconduct can result in termination. Noting this within the company policy is important in that employees need to know what can and cannot be disclosed to the public and what the repercussions of such an act may be. Any private, company information, that is leaked to the public, is cause for immediate termination and possible investigation as to why that information was leaked.
It is important for employers to note that any misconduct gleaned from an employee’s personal social media account must be collected in a file and brought to the employee’s attention immediately. Employers must note that they may not request login information from their employees nor attempt to hack into their accounts. Any misconduct must be brought to the employer’s attention by a means of finding it publically by the company name or an employee name that was found when searching for social media misconduct. A lawsuit can be brought against the company if they feel that their profiles had been searched for any sort of discriminatory purposes, so companies should be aware that they conduct these account checks in a proper and legal manner.
Should you make the decision to make an employment-related decision based on an employee’s social media you will want to consult legal counsel before doing so. What may seem like common sense and completely justified, could very well be something that is protected and you can find yourself facing legal action on the part of the employee.
Wrongful termination claims can be expensive and hard to fight. Because of this, it is critical that you consult with legal counsel before taking action against an employee based on their social media.
Prior to onboarding an employee, they should be familiarized with the company’s social media policy. A social media policy should consist of the dos and don’ts of using social media within and outside of the workplace. The policy should be very specific about what is deemed as inappropriate so no one gets confused, and employees have actual examples of what is considered going against company policy. It is also a good idea to have in place what possible punishments are for violating the policy whether it be immediate termination, suspension or if it may need to be taken into trial depending on how violating the situation is. Making sure that everyone is up to date on the social media policy will allow the company to avoid any legal entanglements and ensure that no employee is uninformed or harmed.
Your policies regarding social media and other employment issues are critical to keeping you out of trouble. The more clear your policies are the less likely you are to face problems with decisions made based on social media use.
Documentation is everything when it comes to making employment decisions. Having well-documented records will help you in cases when you need to terminate an employee.
It is important to understand that in order to terminate an employee for a breach of a social media policy the company itself has to have been impacted negatively. If the employee makes himself look bad in a way that goes against company values, then further actions can potentially be taken. However, if the company or an employee is not directly targeted within social media posts than these posts cannot be held against the employee. Being familiar with social media policies and regulations can allow both parties to maintain a fair and equal relationship. Understanding what should and should not be uploaded onto personal social media accounts can allow for a safer workplace and allow everyone to be treated fairly. Although it may seem impossible to track all employees’ social media accounts, putting these policies into place smooths the process. This will also give employees a guide of do’s and don’ts to comply with. In doing so, everyone will start off on the same page, eliminating any miscommunication within the company.
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