Social Media in the Workplace

1. Social Media in the Workplace By: Tamara L. Romero

2. SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE WORKPLACE Recently, there has been an explosion of Social Media. Social media allows people to connect and share information with others. The Internet opened the door to the explosion of what has become known as social networking. Social networking generally consists of a website or discussion forum in which users can connect and share information with others. Social networking provides employers with unprecedented opportunities to communicate with clients and potential customers. As those networks expand and as each “friend” “friends” another, and each tweet inspires another tweet, employers must consider the actions they take with respect to employees as a result of social media information. For all of the benefits that social networking provides to businesses. Employers must be aware of their employees’ use of social networking both at work and after the workday has ended. Simply because a business does not use social networking, however, it should not presume that it is immune from its effects. Even if an employer does not already have a presence on a social media website, it should expect that many of its employees do. Unfortunately, employers and employees often have differing views as to the use of social media in the workplace, which can create workplace issues. A little background is in order. The genesis of the social networking frenzy began with Friendster in 2002, then MySpace and LinkedIn in 2003. Facebook and Twitter followed in 2004 and 2006, respectively. In just a short period of time the number of people and businesses using social networking has increased tremendously. Today, for example, there are 500 million active users of Facebook (250 million of which log on at least once a day).

3. Social media can land a company in hot water even before a person is hired. A recent survey by Jobvite Inc., shows 83 percent of employers are likely to use social networks for hiring in the next year. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter were the first, second, and third ranked sites, respectively, that prospective employers use. Imagine John and Jane both interview for the same job and Human Resources decided to do some basic searches on the Internet to make sure they are not running a drug ring through their Facebook page.Now imagine that the search for Jane turns up nothing, but the search for Jane shows several images on Facebook of…her younger brother’s bar mitzvah. Does anyone see a problem with this? The problem you just ran into is that if you do not hire Jane, no matter how legitimate that decision was, you might have given her ammunition for a lawsuit against your company. "Communication, communication, communication," said career coach Suzanne Ferguson of Wilkinsburg. Make it clear what sites and activities are allowed on company time, but remember that there's a balance between allowing some use and letting it get carried away.

4. Social Media is not just Facebook, it’s:

5. The History of Social Media (2002) (2003) (2004) (2006)

6. STASTICS • 45% of employers use social media for to screen job candidates. • 79% of Employees use social media for “business reasons.” • 82% of Employees use social sites at work for personal reasons. • 79% of Fortune 100 companies are using at least one of the main social media tools.

7. C. MARTIN GASKELL
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UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY In 2007, Dr. Martin Gaskell, 57, an astronomer at the University of Nebraska, was a leading candidate for a job running an observatory at the University of Kentucky. But then somebody did what one does nowadays: an Internet search.That search turned up evidence of Dr. Gaskell’s evangelical Christian faith.The University of Kentucky hired Timothy Knauer, a former student and employee of UK’s Department of Physics & Astronomy. And Dr. Gaskell sued the institution. University of Kentucky (UK) was said to had hired Knauer because he demonstrated more of the qualities that UK wanted in its Observatory Director.Gaskell, however, contends that he was rejected for the position because of his religious beliefs and his expression of these beliefs in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Both sides agree that Dr. Gaskell was invited to the university, in Lexington, for a job interview. In his lawsuit, he says that at the end of the interview, Michael Cavagnero, the chairman of the physics and astronomy department, asked about his religious beliefs. Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, so interviewers typically do not ask about an applicant’s faith. Depositions and e-mails submitted as evidence suggest why Dr. Cavagnero may have raised the issue with Dr. Gaskell. With the simple search of a name on the Internet you can find anything. Social Media has opened doors to personal lives. Without the right security protection on anything one posts to the internet, nothing is protected. In the settlement, the University of Kentucky agreed to pay Gaskell and his attorneys $125,000; the parties are responsible for their own costs and attorney fees. The reputations of both Gaskell and UK are sullied. Gaskell will most probably never get tenure as a professor of Astronomy, and will be regarded as a poison pill to academia.

8. Employers are checking out candidates on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. If you post it, I guarantee someone will read it and that very well could be the wrong person i.e. a hiring manager. It's quite easy for employers to find information you may have preferred to keep private. Much of it can be found by Googling your name. There are also many people who are concerned about protecting their online privacy, so much so they opt to stay away from social networking altogether. Anonymity and privacy are inextricably bound, and they have the effect of supporting one another. With anonymity, users aren’t pushed to reveal detailed information such as their name and location. They are given full control and peace of mind knowing their personal information isn’t being distributed across the Internet. At the end of the day, anonymity leads to more honest, interesting and deep conversations. It allows users to be their true and authentic selves and gives them the opportunity to talk about and share experiences, without fear of reprisal. Furthermore, it provides a safe haven for those in need of an outlet to discuss sensitive issues, like those mentioned above, and it gives users more incentive to share opinions around a broader range of topics. Most importantly though, it puts control back into the hands of the user and encourages freedom of discussion – the most important aspect of social networking today. Dr. Martin Gaskell fell victim to Social Networking simply by posting an essay he wrote on the internet. An essay that may or may not have creationist views. Higher officials agreed with most the population siding with Dr. Gaskell and found the University of Kentucky guilty but some could agree that Dr. Gaskell lost as well. He was asked to interview then it was taken away. Maybe the University should have done their “research” ahead of time if they were just going to use it against him and cause a big inconvenience in this mans life.

9. Further Readings… • Watch this YouTube video on ways to control the use of social media use in the work place. Click here to learn more. • Check out this blog on why social media is a positive attribute in the workplace. • Furthermore, throughout research I came across this article from CNN.com on this very topic. Click here to read more.