Technology

Social media faux pas:  like spitting on someone’s food? 

This – rather blunt – analogy is a proffered this week on the Ohio employer’s law blog by Jon Hyman.   

While you may not necessarily agree with the strength of the comparison, Hyman’s point is simple:  posting derogatory comments about your workplace on a blog or social media site are, at least from the employer’s point of view, pretty much as bad as a wanton act of vandalism at work. 

Hyman offers some thoughts about the essentials of a workplace policy:  but to my mind, there’s one thing missing. 

Monitoring. 

How is the employer necessarily expected to know what an employee is saying on a personal site?  From my experience, most often the boss finds out because of information passed on by others (most notably co‑workers). 

In what must be yet another reminder to employers and employees alike, 15 staff of British Airways have been suspended for comments made on Facebook around industrial action. 

Employees should – by now, if not before – realise that statements made on a social networking site are “public”, and that disciplinary action can result accordingly.

In case you didn’t see this in the media this week, a hilarious example of why it is important for an employer to enforce its internet viewing policies properly. 

The Australian television network, 7, has a live cross to a Macquarie Bank office as part of its show.  When it made the live cross, an employee in the background was seen looking at some sordid pictures of Australian model Miranda Kerr. 

The employee’s viewing was seen by all of those watching the television broadcast – and the employee is in a little bit of trouble accordingly!

An odd story this week from the HR Capitalist about a woman who appears to have taken revenge on a scorned lover by putting up billboards disclosing their affair. 

Kris Dunn ponders whether an employee might do something similar in the event of feeling aggrieved about a workplace issue – and whether, instead of using a billboard, the same type of outcome might be achieved through the use of social media.