During the last several years, we've seen the explosion of social networking sites. According to Facebook's website, as of October 2010, there are more than 500 million active users of Facebook. Moreover, Facebook reports that users spend over 700 billion minutes per month on their site. See http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics. Twitter reported similarly astounding figures in October 2010: there are about 165 million registered users and about 90 million tweets are created each day. See http://blog.twitter.com.
What does this mean for employers? Clearly, not all of these users Facebook and tweet after working hours. With these types of figures, employers need to be prepared for the infiltration of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets into the workplace. Social networking can affect the workplace in a number of ways. The growing use of social networking sites can cause a loss of productivity during workdays. The ease with which individuals can post, and in turn publish to a larger audience, comments about themselves and co-workers can lead to strife and conflict in the workplace. Additionally, the ability to research job applicants online, and learn information relevant to an applicant's protected status, can lead to problems for employers in the hiring process. There are a number of steps that employers can take to minimize the negative effects of social media in the workplace.
First, and most importantly, employers should develop and publish a social networking and blogging policy. The policy should set forth the employer's expectations on accessing social networking sites while at work, as well as the content of such postings whenever employees may post them. The policy should emphasize that employees are expected to focus on their work and minimize personal distractions during their working hours and that company computers and computer systems are to be used primarily for business purposes.
The substance of the policy can take many forms, depending on company needs. Employers drafting a policy should consider prohibiting employees from: (a) posting disparaging, defamatory, discriminatory, harassing, vulgar, obscene, abusive, or hateful comments regarding the company, its products and/or services, or any employees; (b) posting information regarding clients, vendors, and/ or business associates; (c) using trademarks, logos, or other copyright-protected material of the company; or (d) divulging other confidential information regarding the company or its business. Employers may also require employees to make clear that any postings regarding work-related matters represent their own views and opinions, and not those of the company.
Second, employers should enforce the policy evenhandedly, and be clear that discipline will result from conduct in violation of the policy. Employers should ensure that managers and supervisors do not make statements to employees that exceptions can or will be made to the policy.
Finally, employers should keep in mind that the rise in popularity of social networking sites, and the ease of researching individuals on the Internet through search engines such as Google, has led to another potential landmine for employers. It is all too easy for recruiters and human resource professionals to Google applicants or view applicants' social networking pages/profiles and, in the process, learn information relevant to an applicant's protected status. For example, a human resource professional may discover that an applicant belongs to a protected category, aligns him or herself with particular political viewpoints, or engages in unprofessional conduct. In such cases, even if the employer chooses not to employ that applicant for legitimate reasons, the mere fact that the employer performed the searches and viewed the results may be enough to cast doubt on the employer's legitimate reason for not hiring that applicant. Thus, employers need to use care in screening applicants and ensure that if recruiters use social networking or other related sites for screening, uniform standards are set for doing so.
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