When Facebook Sucks a Little

[Semantics]

I was reading an article recently about how many employers now ask about social networking sites while interviewing. The two most popular questions asked of applicants were:

Do you belong to a social or public networking site?

Have you made or authorized any other public internet postings during the past year of your name, image, or commentary? Do you have any concerns about the impact of these postings on your potential employers?



I know someone who was fired for using his work email address to post a comment on a news article. I don't blame the employer at all, and it just goes to show that we need to be careful with what information we put out there.

[adorable]

Originally Posted by Semantics

I was reading an article recently about how many employers now ask about social networking sites while interviewing. The two most popular questions asked of applicants were:

Do you belong to a social or public networking site?

Have you made or authorized any other public internet postings during the past year of your name, image, or commentary? Do you have any concerns about the impact of these postings on your potential employers?



I know someone who was fired for using his work email address to post a comment on a news article. I don't blame the employer at all, and it just goes to show that we need to be careful with what information we put out there.

I know someone who worked for the county that was fired for using the work computer to do personal searches. I consider myself lucky to work for the person that I do and have absolute freedom when it comes to those things.

Who we are is so complicated that I wonder if we can ask people to not be who they are in order to work someplace. How does that line get drawn? Who gets to decide?

It's making my head hurt.

I think that what I do for a living is a big part of who I am, but it's not the only part. Yet I do represent my company. Where does our life start and work stop?

[Linus]

Send him here: ReclaimPrivacy.org I've shared it on my FB and encourage others to do so. As for the degeneration of inhibitions online, well.. I could go on about that. But Facebook feeds into it. And don't get me started about the apps!

[suebee]

There was a case in my town where a fellow was jailed because he violated the terms of his probation. The probation officer found out because the guy posted pics on his facebook page of him drinking and smoking up. I mean.....honestly......how dumb do you have to be?

I was just now looking at this article on facebook privacy. This caught my eye: ".....the company's 5,830-word privacy policy. That, as the astute crew from The New York Times noticed, is 1,287 words longer than the United States Constitution."

Life is no longer simple. I keep my fb page as private as possible, and don't post ANYTHING that I wouldn't want to come out in court.

[JustJo]

I'm on facebook, and here (obviously...duh)....but I do both of those from my personal computer...never my work computer...even though I work from home and it's about 2 feet behind me at the moment.

My co-workers are not on my facebook account...on purpose. At one point I had "friended" a couple of co-workers, and saw quite a bit of those same things going on. Looked like trouble to me, and I "unfriended" and checked those privacy settings. I also never, ever, ever post anything about work on facebook...just cuz.

Not long after, my company came out with some very specific rules and protocols about social networking sites....evidently because a large number of both managers and their reports were friended on facebook and there was a big, ugly flap. I don't know the details....except that a few people were suddenly "pursuing opportunities outside of ***** ". Gulp.

[Kobi]

Originally Posted by adorable

I know someone who worked for the county that was fired for using the work computer to do personal searches. I consider myself lucky to work for the person that I do and have absolute freedom when it comes to those things.

Who we are is so complicated that I wonder if we can ask people to not be who they are in order to work someplace. How does that line get drawn? Who gets to decide?

It's making my head hurt.

I think that what I do for a living is a big part of who I am, but it's not the only part. Yet I do represent my company. Where does our life start and work stop?

Excellent questions!

Workers rights advocates have grappled with numerous issues like this over the years from a reasonable workday, to benefits, to drug testing, to non smoking environments, to threatening to fire smokers who only smoke in their own homes!

I havent any good answer. I think in our lives we have reciprocal relationships in all that we do. Mortgages require certain behavior from us or we face the consequences. Same with car loans.

I dont see much difference with employers. We enter into an employment contract with an organization agreeing to certain wages, benefits, dress codes, standards of behavior etc. Organizations make certain rules to comply with various regulations in addition to determining their own image, level of service, expected modes of eperation etc. The behavior of workers can reflect on the organization which sometimes is not a big deal but sometimes is a federal or state crime.

Technology has added a new dimension to the workplace. The organization I worked for kept adding to the expectations and consequences as technology improved, became more widespread, and better monitored.

I am gathering from what you said, you have the freedom to roam the internet on work time. In my organization, you would be warned about the inappropriate use of the internet on worktime several times before you were fired.

I suspect organizations implicitly set their own rules and requirements as a condition of employment. Is posting messages disagreeing with policies and processes in a public forum a violation or just poor judgement? Tough call. Depends on the organizational rules. Depends on the contract, implicit or explicit, that was entered into.

We dont live in a vacuum where anything goes. We have rules and regulations everywhere supposedly designed for the benefit of the whole sometimes at the expense of the one. We need to be mindful of the reciprocity involved in many aspects of our lives. Behavior has consequences for one reason or another, sometimes positive, sometimes not.

We are not, in my mind, totally free to do whatever we want whenever we want wherever we want to do it.

[betenoire]

Well, if he is trash-talking the company you both work for...I can see where that is fireable. Seriously. It makes (him and) the company look bad. I don't know what type of work you do, but I do know that regardless of what type of agency/company it is...trashtalk can effect people's decision to apply for a job at said workplace, and can also effect people's decision to deal with that agency/company. It can have long lasting bad effects on the company - and I'm sure if I were trash-talking my place of employment and my boss got wind of it....I would be gone.

I do draw the line where you hear stories of people being fired for stuff like posting drunk pictures or political rants on facebook (and livejournal, and blogspot, and myspace, and friendster, and and and).

I used to hang out with a guy when I lived in BC who was fired from his job (he worked for the schoolboard as an Educational Assistant) because he had posted drunk party pictures on his blog. I thought, and still think, that was such bullshit.

I do not talk about my job in public, ever. Not on facebook, not on the bus, not at a restaurant. Because you -never- know who is listening. If someone asks me about my job my responce is always about the same "I love my job and can't imagine working anywhere else and I feel very fortunate because my boss is -amazing- and my workplace is almost entirely drama-free. It's a nice environment to work in." (all of those things are true by the way, my job is fabulous) But never more specific than that.

[adorable]

Originally Posted by betenoire

Well, if he is trash-talking the company you both work for...I can see where that is fireable. Seriously. It makes (him and) the company look bad. I don't know what type of work you do, but I do know that regardless of what type of agency/company it is...trashtalk can effect people's decision to apply for a job at said workplace, and can also effect people's decision to deal with that agency/company. It can have long lasting bad effects on the company - and I'm sure if I were trash-talking my place of employment and my boss got wind of it....I would be gone.

I do draw the line where you hear stories of people being fired for stuff like posting drunk pictures or political rants on facebook (and livejournal, and blogspot, and myspace, and friendster, and and and).

I used to hang out with a guy when I lived in BC who was fired from his job (he worked for the schoolboard as an Educational Assistant) because he had posted drunk party pictures on his blog. I thought, and still think, that was such bullshit.

I do not talk about my job in public, ever. Not on facebook, not on the bus, not at a restaurant. Because you -never- know who is listening. If someone asks me about my job my responce is always about the same "I love my job and can't imagine working anywhere else and I feel very fortunate because my boss is -amazing- and my workplace is almost entirely drama-free. It's a nice environment to work in." (all of those things are true by the way, my job is fabulous) But never more specific than that.

Soooooo TRUE!! I do something similar because of the industry I work in. This is where I work today...if I ever want to work somewhere else talking shit about my current employer doesn't make my employer look bad and can really ruin future opportunities.

[theoddz]

I've always had a problem with putting my personal business out in public. I guess I'm just a private person about most things. Mother drilled that into me at a young age, I think. She still quotes a few things that I have never forgotten.

1. "Fools names, fools' faces...are always seen in public places."

2. "Save your money and don't tell your business."

3. "Keep your own counsel."

4. "Never put anything down in writing that you don't want to come back on you later."

5. "Large minds talk about places and things....small minds talk about other people."

6. "Sometimes, you don't need to know everything."

and finally (and BEST OF ALL)...

7. "Even a fish wouldn't get caught if it just kept its mouth shut."

My mother is a very wise soul. I'm glad she taught me well.

~Theo~

[Boots13]

Great topic!

I can relate to feeling frustrated over my interactions on social sites. I am overly reserved on sites because of my career. While it may seem I am distant, unwilling to engage or hesitate to call someone out, it is more aptly related to survival mode. I usually just stick to light hearted or surface types of interactions. If the sh*t starts hitting the fan in a thread, I excuse myself from the fracas. I continue reading, but my involvement takes a precipitous dive. Boots is MIA again.

We are vulnerable on all social networking sites.