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Social Media in the workplace


Social Media in the workplace

Social media has shifted workplace dynamics by becoming an increasingly used tool for organisations to expand their business. While real estate businesses use the limitless commercial potential of sites like Facebook, Twitter and My Space to increase their client base, advertise and provide access to the public beyond usual business hours, it is not without risk.

Issues with which businesses are grappling include the inappropriate use of social media for personal use, defamation, harassment and uncertainty over the ownership of intellectual property such as blogs and contact lists. The accelerated use of social media is blurring the line between what constitutes accepted actions in the workplace and what may be considered ‘personal’.

It is evident that the hazards presented by the use of social media in the workplace can create the following problems:

  • Excessive use of social media for personal purposes may disrupt work and undermine productivity.
  • Online disputes between employees can be brought into the workplace.
  • Online complaints against individuals in the workplace can damage the reputation of the business.
  • Online content may not clearly distinguish between organisations’ views and the personal views of employees.

Such is the legal threat presented by social media, it has become an absolute necessity for businesses to have dedicated and well-communicated social media policies governing the use of these technologies in the broader workplace environment.

There have now been several cases, mainly concerning dismissal, where Courts or Tribunals have considered the use of social media at work. Its evolving nature means that to some extent, firm legal principles relating to it are still being established. The following points are now clear:

  • Whether the organisation actually has a social media policy is crucial – and is usually the first question the employer will be asked.
  • The employer must be able to present evidence of a breach of the policy or hard evidence of excessive or inappropriate use of social media.
  • For dismissal to be justified, there must be serious damage to the
  • employment relationship or to the business itself, and the employee’s conduct must be incompatible with his/her duties.
  • Extent of damage caused will depend on the security/privacy settings used by the employee, how accessible the content was to other parties, how many other people had access to it and how clearly the employer was identified.

So what can businesses do to avoid the inherent risks of improper use by employees of social media technology? Business simply must adopt a social media policy that provides strict guidelines on the use of social media in the workplace and out of hours.

The policy should be aligned with other business policies and should include:

  • A definition of appropriate use.
  • The employer’s expectations around social media in the workplace and acknowledgement that comments made in private accounts out of hours may result in disciplinary action. Employees need to acknowledge that what they may perceive as their personal posts or comments are not necessarily private and may still be considered related to their work.
  • A clear statement that an expectation of privacy is non-existent if there is a sufficient connection to the workplace and that access will be monitored.
  • Reiteration of obligations around the use of confidential information, and
  • Clearly set out the consequences of inappropriate social media use.


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Social Media in the workplace