Social Media Impacts
Many employers require new employees to sign computer usage agreements. These generally stipulate employees must not use the employers’ equipment, or databases for personal use and include clauses that state that the employee understands that personal use can lead to disciplinary action all the way up to termination.
Let’s face it though - a significant portion of employees, especially those in the Gen X and Y age cohorts use employers’ equipment and databases for personal use. As a co-worker and former union representative, I’ve been rather shocked at how blasé so many people are about this and how much time they actually spend using social media, particularly Facebook, on work time. Even learning about cases where employers have investigated and fired employees for personal use of computers and time theft doesn’t seem to make much impact. Workplace culture has changed rapidly in this area.
Another confounding factor is employers providing employees with equipment, such as Blackberries for work use. This further blurs the line between work and personal time and use of employer equipment, with little guidance around this.
There is a notable lack of concern amongst many employees about the implications for privacy related to other people’s information that is shared on employers’ databases. Most employers have the capacity to keep track of employees’ computer usage.
I remember way back in my record store days when a manager pulled me into his office and gave me a mild rebuke for the frequent use of the internal messaging system with other employees. It felt unfair to me, since we were all doing it, but for some reason I was singled out. It was silly and I apologized, end of story, but it did make me aware that employers are watching what is happening with use of their systems.
To make matters even more muddy and confusing, the BC government gave their employees the go ahead to use social media, such as Facebook, to do their jobs. The seven page guidelines provided to BC public service employees “reveals a land mine of uncertainty about how the guidelines will work in practice” according to David Eby of the BC Civil Liberties Association. (Times Colonist, 2010).
One notable case from BC, which has gone viral, led to the firing of two employees for their use of Facebook outside of work hours and on their own computers. The employees’ comments about supervisors and managers were so inappropriate and egregious their firing was upheld by the B.C. Labour Relations Board. The full decision can be read here.
Another reason accessing social media is a problem in workplaces is the exposure it gives businesses to the thousands of computer viruses that are passed around randomly with the simple click on a friend’s link on their Facebook page.
Peer-to-peer file sharing programs also open up employers’ databases to corruption from malware and viruses that can impact the security and integrity of organizations networks. Malware is also designed to install itself on user’s computers and will then send out information and data, unknown to users, which creates serious risks to confidentiality of business information and possibly compromising business obligations under Freedom of Privacy and Protection of Information laws.
Here is a study that looked at Canadians use of the internet at work.
A whole other can of worms is opened up when individuals who share a workplace become “friends” on Facebook. This is something that needs to be strongly considered as this can come back to haunt people on the job. I’ve found that younger generations of job seekers and employees have a different way of conceiving of privacy that can be quite unnerving.
They are comfortable sharing information, pictures and opinions in a much more public way than other generations. Potential employers and recruiters customarily search out information on job candidates on the Internet and young people need to become more aware of how they might be perceived. I wrote an article on employment and interview tips for young job seekers that touches on their public information and encourages them to think about how things might be perceived by potential employers. The article can be viewed here.
As a former employee in the public service, non-profit and business sectors, I’m not sure why employees can’t just use social media on their own time, outside of work hours and not use their employers’ equipment, or databases. Rarely, if ever, are the social media contributions of most people of life and death proportions that can’t wait until after employers’ work is done.
Watch for more case law, media stories and arbitration decisions in one of the fastest evolving and most controversial areas involving the workplace.
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Next up - Part 4 - The Fight to Recruit & Retain Top Talent
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