Social media dilemmas in the employment context

Published date04 April 2016
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/ER-04-2015-0072
Pages420-437
Date04 April 2016
AuthorHelen Lam
Subject MatterHR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations
Social media dilemmas in the
employment context
Helen Lam
Faculty of Business, Athabasca University, Edmonton, Canada
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse social media issues that give rise to
employment-related legal and ethical dilemmas, with reference made to recent case law development,
and offer recommendations for employers and employees.
Design/methodology/approach Prior research, statistical trends, and case laws are reviewed.
Findings Employers using social media for employment decisions may risk crossing the lines of
discrimination, infringement on personal privacy, and/or interference with employeesconcerted
activities protected by US law. However, employers not using social media may face negligent hiring
and damages for improper employee messages posted. For employees, while social media provides a
connection tool, messages posted off-duty and thought to be privatemay still be used as evidence in
support of disciplinary actions.
Practical implications Employers, employees, and their unions must be cognizant of the ethical
and legal implications of using social media in the employment context, and the latest developments in
the privacy rights, human rights, labour relations rights, and contractual rights. Concerns about power
shift need to be addressed.
Social implications Social media growth has blurred the boundary between work and private
lives. With employers able to monitor employeessocial media activities almost at all times, this has
implications for the overall power and control. On the other hand, employees may find social media
offering another voice channel that can also potentially increase their power to some extent.
Originality/value Social media is a fast developing area with new case laws emerging regarding its use
in the employment context. The paper provides a systemic review of the issues and latest developments.
Keywords Best practice, Human resource management, Business ethics, Employee relations,
Selection, Laws and legislation
Paper type General review
Introduction
The popularity of social media has soared so much in recent years that it has become
almost an inevitable part of ones social and work life. Social media helps people
connect and share information but also can bring a host of issues, some of which can
have legal and ethical implications. In the employment setting, employers have
increasingly used social media for recruiting employees, screening job applicants, as
well as monitoring or disciplining current employees. In the process, employers run the
risk of crossing the lines of discrimination, infringement on personal privacy and
freedom, or interference with employeesconcerted activities that are protected by US
law. However, employers choosing not to use social media can run other risks as well,
such as negligent hiring and damage to company image for improper employee
messages posted. Employers, in general, are not ignorant of the potential problems of
using social media. For example, 74 per cent of employers in a Deloitte LLPs Ethics
and Workplace Survey realized that organization reputation could be easily destroyed
by social media, if not handled appropriately (Deloitte, 2009). Yet, many are not well
prepared to deal with social media-related employment matters.
For employees, the boundary between private and work life is becoming more and
more blurry with time. Social media messages shared with friends can quite easily
Employee Relations
Vol. 38 No. 3, 2016
pp. 420-437
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-04-2015-0072
Received 29 April 2015
Revised 29 July 2015
10 September 2015
Accepted 14 September 2015
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
420
ER
38,3
and quickly get into the hands of other unintended parties, including the employer or
other colleagues. Case laws have shown decisions upholding employee disciplines
arising out of posting allegedly non-private messages harmful to the employer or
offensive to the supervisor. Interestingly, research has found that millennials, which
comprise a significant portion of social media users, are aware of their vulnerability
using digital media but still post significant volumes of personal information (Sánchez
Abril et al., 2012). Among employees, another dilemma exists when one is torn between
keeping colleaguesinformation private and disclosing to the employer under a duty of
loyalty, such as when another employee badmouths the employer on social media.
While these concerns are not totally new, the social media context has certainly
brought attention to some of these issues to a new height. As social media offers
employers more employee monitoring opportunities and tools, even outside of the work
place and hours, it has the potential to shift the power balance in the employment
relationship towards employers. Hence, employees and their collective institution s may
have to figure out their appropriate role in shaping the policy developments and use of
social media in their organization.
Although many lawyers and consultants as well as some human resource (HR)
scholars have written on social media in the employment context, most of their articles
usually deal with a specific issue triggered by a recent development within a country or
jurisdiction. There is a general lack of studies that provide a systematic and
comprehensive examination of the topic relating to the broad range of employment
issues and settings. This paper is intended to help fill the gap. In particular, its focus is
on social media issues that give rise to employment-related dilemmas, for both
employers and workers, as the dilemmas are what make the issues particularly
challenging for decision making. The paper starts with an analysis of recent social
media trends and common usages in the employment contexts. It then identifies and
discusses issues involving ethical and legal dilemma, with references made to case
laws. These include the broader implications for employees relating to the shift of
power and control in the employment relationship. The paper also offers a set of
recommendations for employers and employees and suggestions for future research. It
is written with a broad range of audiences in mind, including academics in HR or law,
HR practitioners, line managers and workers in general.
Social media trends
Social media is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as forms of electronic
communication (as websites for social networking and micro blogging) through which
users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages and
other content (as videos). It s main features include parti cipation, openness,
conversation, community, and connectedness (Mayfield, 2008). The fast speed of
communication, the wide reach, the almost impossibility of retraction of inappropriate
messages (as the messages might have been forwarded or kept by previous receivers)
are also important characteristics that make social media very different from other
prior forms of communication, like informal discussions among employees around the
water cooler or at social gatherings. Moreover, anonymity or possible use of pseudo
names offered by social media may easily lead one to be less careful about divulging
information such as communication that could be construed as a misconduct in the
eyes of the employer (Miller, 2013).
The popularity of social media is evident from a number of reports. Pew Research
Centre (n.d.) found 74 per cent of online adults use social networking sites.
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