Should you be fired from your job for what you post on Facebook/Twitter?

 

Today’s uber-relevant question comes to us from Josh in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  With so much of the world all a-Twitter these days, is it fair for employers to monitor social networking sites and their employees’ online activities?

 

The American in me wants to throw up my fists and scream, “Hell no!”.  We live in a society founded upon certain unalienable rights, including the freedom of speech.  If I want the internet world to know the sordid details of my afternoon-commute encounter with the toothless, hairy homeless guy who sets up shop next to the gas station, that’s my business, right? Right?

 

Well, yes and no.  Yes, it is my right as an American to make my opinions known just as it’s my right to post photographs of various not-so-intimate details of my daily life.  What is not guaranteed in the constitution, however, is the right to be a completely naïve and self-absorbed idiot.  Most of us know that the internet is not exactly private.  We have a basic understanding that what we choose to put out there will be seen and viewed by complete strangers, regardless of the safeguards we’ve put in place to ‘protect’ our public information.  Only want Cousin Joe and his wife to see the photo of little Johnny in the bathtub? There’s a process for that.  Want to exist on social media networks but don’t want Sally, your ex-girlfriend, to know you’re sleeping with her sister? Check.  Does this mean that the information you’re trying to protect will never get out? Of course not, don’t be silly.  There will always be someone smart enough, and bored enough, to figure out how to see your stuff online.

 

So what about social media networks in the workplace? Should what you post online have an effect on your job?  If you’re all about posting compromising photos or rumors or partaking in any otherwise shady online business, perhaps.  But, honestly, what harm could it bring to my employer if I, say, post a mobile photo of myself out drinking with coworkers? A few simple questions generally pop into my mind when I’m contemplating a social media move:

 

• Am I at work right now?
• Am I using company-owned technology in my social media activities?
• Would I want my grandfather happening upon this information?
• What impact might this activity have on others?

 

In reminding myself of the answers to these questions, I’m generally ensuring that my bases are covered should anyone see what I am posting.  Not being a naïve idiot myself, I’m well aware of the following:

 

• If I’m on work time, I represent my company.  Anything I do publicly during work time will reflect on my employer and my productivity. Kind of a no-brainer here.  You’re not getting paid to play online, and you’re making the company look bad.
• A pretty standard rule-of-thumb, but if it’s not my computer, there’s no way I can control my privacy.
• If I don’t want my family to see it, it’s probably not something that’s going to reflect well on myself at work.
• Have a little empathy. When you offend people, belittle them, or insult them, no one wins. Well, sometimes there’s a winner. Sometimes there’s just jail time.

 

So while overall, we should rock on with our freedoms that we have in the US, we should never lose sight of the lessons we learned as children in terms of having a solid concept of what is right and wrong, and more importantly, how right and wrong is perceived by others.  Example:

 

• Jen’s boss hears from others in the department that Jen has been logging into Facebook quite a bit during the workday.
  • SCENARIO 1: It is clear to see by looking at Jen’s online profile that she is spending her work time playing games and taking ‘fun’ quizzes.
  • SCENARIO 2: Jen’s boss can tell by looking at her online profile that Jen has spent the morning using Facebook to network with other companies within her industry and learn some best-practices.

 

In both of these scenarios, Jen’s been online during the workday and it’s being noticed by her coworkers.  Is this simple act grounds for discipline or termination? Perhaps, but perhaps not.  In examining the two scenarios, it’s clear that Jen’s activities could be drastically different natures.  In the first scenario, Jen’s online activities display a flagrant disregard for company rules and her performance is sure to be affected in a negative way.  In the second scenario, however, Jen is aware that she represents her company during her workday and uses social media in a business-appropriate fashion that relates to her job.

 

So is it right for a company to take action based on an employee’s online activities? In certain cases, yes.  It is up to the web user – the employee – to employ a healthy dose of common sense when posting to the internet, to essentially cover their own backsides and ensure their own job security.  And who doesn’t want to do that?

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