The Importance Of Employee Social Media

Traditional professionalism demands an employee to distinguish between personal and professional personas. People live in the age of technology. Nowadays, technology has become a necessity in daily life and as such, the prevalence of social media websites has increased noticeably. It is by interacting and communicating through social media websites that people find solace and entertainment. According to a recent study, 73% of American teenagers and 43% of adults use social networking websites (Lenhart, 2010). Companies nowadays use the Internet for aid in conducting all business transactions across the globe. With all that technological advancement, companies have begun to monitor their employees’ activity on the Internet, specifically their

First of all, privacy rights preclude employers from legally monitoring employees while they are off-duty. Some companies specifically include a right to privacy, which prevents employers from accessing and monitoring their employees’ social media accounts. In addition, some states, including California, have laws prohibiting employers from taking any action against an employee based on that employee’s conduct off the job (Guerin, n.d.). What employees post on their social media accounts is restricted to their personal life and is to be considered private since it has nothing to do with their job; they are able to distinguish between their personal and professional life so that neither influences the other. Anything an employee writes on their social media account conveys their thoughts and feelings, which are nowhere near related to their work. So why should these thoughts be monitored when they are not affecting the company whatsoever? All employees working in any company have their own privacy rights, which must be respected and abided by the company. A recent survey shows that 80% of employers use the Internet to investigate their employees (Services, 2010), but although the data collected might be valuable, there are as well risks posed by violating the privacy of employees and prying into their private affairs. Monitoring employees is not only considered as a violation of privacy, but also a

As one court stated “the concept of internet privacy is a fallacy upon which no one should rely” (Sprague, 2011). These people claim that companies need to monitor their employees’ social media accounts so that their employees refrain from illegal, inappropriate, or even illicit activities. Furthermore, they are under the impression that nowadays, the boundaries between private and professional lives have been blurred due to technology. It may be true that lines are crossed and boundaries are overstepped sometimes in some cases; nevertheless, that does not apply to all cases and believing that it does would be believing a hasty generalization. If a company wishes to limit their employees from discussing anything work related on social media, then the company should enforce rules that prohibit their employees from doing so. Furthermore, the company should also implement policies that forbid all personal online computer use during work hours. Therefore, when an employee violates any of these strict policies, that employee would be held liable and responsible for his actions. Moreover, employees should have the ability to discuss anything freely without having to fear what their employers would think about