According to a survey by the recruitment agency MyJobGroup.co.uk, compiled in conjunction with law firm Irwin Mitchell, 40% of UK employees admit to criticising their employers on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Furthermore most staff had little or no idea of the legal implications of what they wrote online. Click here for the press release.
The report contains some surprisingly large numbers, for instance;
- 20% of employees admit to “lambasting” their employers online
- 53% would support disciplinary action against fellow employees sticking the online boot into the workplace
- 60% of employees would change what they wrote online if they knew their bosses would read it (and as the report points out they might given the privacy problems on Facebook)
- 70% had no idea if their employer had a social media policy in place
The press release doesn’t say by whom the survey was conducted or how many people were interviewed but, subject to those issues, the survey suggests employers need to do a great deal more work on educating their workforces. For some reason, many people seem to think that social media is above and beyond reach of the law: it’s not. Employers and employees both need to wake up. For more information on the risks posed please see my Slideshare presentation on the subject.
If you’re an employer seeking help in drafting a social media usage policy for your workplace, or an employee worried about something you might have written on Facebook about your boss, please call me on 0207 464 8433 or email me at michaelscutt@dalelangley.co.uk
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tessa Shepperson and travisthetrout, Sian Astley. Sian Astley said: RT @Jobsworth 40% of UK Employees Criticise Their Bosses on Facebook/Twitter http://bit.ly/ds2R1u (via @TessaShepperson) – Only 40%?
[...]
Only 40%? Yes, good point!
My daughter’s school recently sent a letter to all parents warning them about defamatory remarks that were being made by pupils about teachers on social networking sites such as facebook. It seems many pupils are sharing their views online about teachers they dislike and making public these comments on various websites. Are parents responsible for these comments if made by their child? Can a lawsuit be made by a teacher against the parents of a child for defamation under these circumstances. A very interesting area that doesn’t stop at issues between employees but is increasingly a problem with schools and their pupils.
Only 40%? As a recruiter, I know its closer to 60%, but lets accept the survey result.
The problem here is that social media has closed the “walk out of the door and go home” barrier to your employer knowing what’s going on in your life. If you invite them as a friend on all of your social media profiles, then at some point you are bound to make a joke or comment that will be misinterpreted. Alternately, if you leave your social media profile open for anyone to review – and just because you hit the “private” button doesn’t make it private to Google – what did you expect?
I see this as a huge opportunity for “ground up/proven by case law” development. What can an employer take into account if they are your friend and your boss? At the moment the only loser is the job applicant and the employee – as evidence by the Virgin case at Gatwick. But sooner or later open Social Media use has to bite the employers, and hard.
Good Luck!
Ian´s last [type] ..Food Retail Jobs
Ian
Thanks for that. I share your scepticism about the 40% figure. I think you’re absolutely right about the divide between “work” and “private” and it’s a real challenge for employers, especially where they are encouraging employees to tweet and post with “character” to bring the faceless corporation to life. Businesses will get bitten and probably soon. The whole idea of social media law is in its infancy but it will grow and grow in response to these types of challenge.
There is a real challenge when it comes to deciding the difference between a work and more of a personal relationship with your employer on social networking sites. Businesses as has been stated, are encouraging their employees to be increasingly active on these sites, bringing attention to the business. But how far is too far? Do employees need to tone down there language, and amount of usage? There needs to be a clear decision made soon to allow employees to know there boundaries.
Thanks Louise, I agree with you. Employers certainly need to make employees aware of what is and is not acceptable – see my post on social media with the link to my slideshare presentation for more on this. Definitive rules are difficult but guidelines and principles might work better. Employers encouraging employees to use social media to get the corporate message out need to ensure that employees know what the corporate message is! That may be a significant part of the problem – if employees are just told to “use it” the risk of inappropriate comments rises in order to fill the void.