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Your job is on the line
'OMG! I HATE MY JOB! My boss is a total pervvy ****** always making me do **** stuff just to **** me off. ******!'
This is the Facebook status line recently published by one not-so-motivated employee after a hard day's toil.
Unfortunately for the staff member in question, the following comment is posted below hers.
'Hi there, I guess you forgot about adding me on here? ....that **** stuff is called your job, you know, what I pay you to do? ...you seem to have forgotten that you have two weeks left on your six month trial period. Don't bother coming in tomorrow. I'll drop your P45 in the post.'
This is a powerful example of 'how not to behave' for workers and employers alike.
But it's just the thin end of the wedge when it comes to what is public and private when posted on social networking sites, who can see what content, and what are the ethics of sharing content.
We've seen another example closer to home too when, in recent weeks, a Manx politician posted a Facebook message critical of a senior civil servant only to find news of his posting plastered all over the newspapers a few days later.
This blurring of what is public and private is set to cause huge headaches for organisations as services such as Facebook, Twitter and Friendfeed continue to grow in popularity among all sectors of society.
More than just reputations are on the line when you consider the risk of libel and liability. But there are steps that can be taken to mitigate the risk.
Many organisations already have defined internet usage policies which outline acceptable use of work-related internet resources.
Many have blocked access to popular social networking sites or have limited access in the workplace.
However, most of these actions have no bearing on how employees use the internet outside of work hours or when using their own, personal Internet resources.
In addition, employers need to set out guidelines on how personal information can be used in the workplace.
This refers to the type of content which gets posted on Facebook, that in the past colleagues and bosses would probably never be privy to.
Whether someone has posted 'glamour' photographs online or there is a YouTube video a staff member participating in a Nazi rally, organisations should be prepared to react appropriately, if necessary.
Security software company Proofpoint recently published a study that showed that 8 per cent of US companies have given someone the sack for something they'd posted on social sites in the past 12 months, up from 4 per cent last year. Seventeen percent of companies had to investigate 'exposure incidents' involving sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.
An outright ban on employees keeping blogs or social network profiles might seem an ideal solution, but policing and enforcing such a policy is unrealistic. Additionally, it wouldn't cover content that employees' friends, associates and families publish.
However it's perfectly reasonable to implement a social media policy, separately or as part of an internet usage policy, that stipulates that employees who maintain a blog or social network property cannot use it to make comments about the organisation or the people who work there.
By making rules and expectations clear from the outset, any breach can be dealt with through the usual disciplinary processes, avoiding nasty tribunals and possible negative publicity.
Another preventative measure would be to provide employees with appropriate training on how to use various social websites. Many people are not aware of the risks or they act according to erroneous assumptions or false information about how such sites work.
For example, many people, especially those who have been on Facebook for quite some time, may be unaware that the social network platform has introduced new features that allow different groups of friends different levels of access.
So your family may be able to see everything, but your colleagues may get access only to your wall.
Others still, might only get to see your main profile information, but none of your real-time updates and interactions.
But don't be lulled into a false sense of security. Privacy features certainly lower the levels of exposure, but they are not fail safe.
For example, when someone is tagged in photograph, that picture becomes visible to all that person's friends, even if they are not connected to the person who posted the photo in the first place.
It can then be 'shared' or reposted to the profiles of friends, and friends of friends and so on.
This considerably widens the audience for any content posted, and the more people that are reached the less control over who sees what. This is probably the trend that saw the Manx politicians' Facebook musings made public.
What he thought was a private conversation among trusted friends was never that. A Facebook wall is no place to post anything 'private'.
By arming employees with the social media knowledge and skills companies can help them protect their own privacy and at the same time protect the organisation. Risk cannot be eliminated, but it can be managed.
Sherrilynne Starkie is the managing partner of Strive Public Relations, a strategic communications consultancy serving the Isle of Man. Visit her business blog, www.strivepr.com/notes or follow her on twitter.com/sherrilynne
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Weather for Isle of Man
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 1 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 3 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: South
