Articles Posted in Social Media and the Workplace

Your social media policy may be good when it comes to addressing legal risks. But getting that message across to your employees…

Not so much, according to a recent survey from Protiviti (here).

The Protiviti survey shows that more businesses are addressing employee use of social media — 57% of respondents have social media policies. And, generally, those social media policies do a good job of addressing legal risks. For example, 90% of surveyed companies with social media policies have provisions in those policies what address disclosure of company information.

Facebook firings have been so en vogue recently. See, Exhibits A, B, and C.

But, let’s not forget that there are many other social-media platforms off of which employees can belly-flop into the unemployment pool.

{That image seemed somehow less harsh in my head. Now that I see it on screen. Oh well…}

This week has been particularly dooziful — that’s a word, look it up — with employee social media tomfoolery. You’ve got the employee asking to be fired on Facebook, HMV employees hijacking the company Twitter account to live tweet firings, a restaurant employee posting snarky customer meal receipts and, two words, one hashtag, #CrunkBear (NSFW).

So, the timing couldn’t be better for our guest blogger here at The Employer Handbook. John Barrett is a writer and employment law activist. He enjoys spending time with his family and keeping up on relevant issues for employees’ conditions in the workplace. He is representing employmentlawlayers.com with his writing.

After the jump, John brings you “Shocking Consequences of Social Media In The Workplace.”

(Want to guest blog at The Employer Handbook? Email me.)

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I’ll give you a hint.

The lede from this KTVK report is: “A single sentence posted on Facebook changed Amy McClenathan’s life forever.”

According to KTVK, Ms. McClenathan made the Facebook post because she was having a rough day near the one-year anniversary of her mother’s death. So, I won’t pretend to judge Ms. McClenathan for what she was going through that day. And even assuming the post precipitated the firing, I won’t critique the propriety of her employer’s response — she was fired, and in case you hadn’t figured that out, I’ll send Tommy back back there and hit you on the head with a tack hammer.

• • The self-congratulatory comments I left below the picture of my awesome seven-story beeramid.

• • My candid review of Cinemax’s After Dark lineup from Arbor Day 2011.

• My plea to George Carlin to go beyond the self-imposed boundaries of seven dirty words.