Essay about Social Media at the Workplace

In today’s rapidly changing society, social media has become a large part of most of our lives. Whether this is to keep up with the news, contact family living at a distance or simply for entertainment, almost everyone you know, will have some sort of social media platform accessible at their fingertips. Canada alone has approximately 31.8 million social media users, roughly 83% of the whole country using some form of social media (Statista Research Department, 2021). Social media is around every corner and everywhere you go, including, the workplace. These sorts of statistics surface the question, can a Canadian company legally compel their employees to not post on social media about their employer?

The guidelines regarding social media and the workplace are left very up in the air by the Canadian Government. When reviewing the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada website, it is recommended companies come up with individual policies to suit what they believe they need from their employees in terms of a social media presence. A frequent reason for Companies setting up these policies stating employees aren’t to post about their employer on social media is because of the backlash it can cause. While social media profiles can be set to “private” or “public”, it is important to remember, things posted on the internet can be deleted, but will never really be gone. When a file is deleted, it still remains on the hard drive of the device even if it appears to be gone. This can lead to unintended audiences such as employers, government and law enforcement or even company competitors gaining access to whatever was posted, and potentially shining a negative light on said company (Privacy and Social Media in the Workplace, 2019). Consent on social media goes both ways, similar to the physical world, your employer also needs your permission before anything about you is posted online in regards to the company as well (Privact Rights: Seek Consent Before Posting Employees Photos on the Company Website, 2016). It is very common for new hires at a workplace to be given a social media policy to agree to and sign, this states whatever that specific company has decided will best benefit their reputation on social media. It is important to read all policies and contracts thoroughly before signing or agreeing to anything so all polices are mutually understood.

Social media usage in the workplace is not always ruled out completely. For some companies, social media is a key tool used in their day-to-day job. In jobs like news broadcasters, bloggers, and with many more, social media is used to its fullest potential to keep in touch with current issues and events around the world and to help spread the word about them. Some businesses are even now creating different social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, as a way to connect with possible customers and advertise their companies (Qi Song, 2019). While social media can have its downfalls, like anything else, it can also be a really great connection tool. In our covid changed world right now, many people are still left at working remotely from home. With access to social media, it has made reaching out to fellow workers and getting work done much more possible (Canaadians at work: Technology enables more flexibility, but longer hours too; checking is the new normal, 2015)

I personally believe that a Canadian company should have the right to prevent them self from a negative appearance on social media by restricting its employees posts about the company. In today’s society, people tend to be quick to judge others actions and words. Online things are often missed such as the tone words were meant to be said in. It is hard online to efficiently get your point across without at least one-person mis-interpreting something you have said or an emotion you meant to portray (Emotions and Digital Well-Being: The Rationalistic Bias of Social Media, 2020). I know that if I had my own business, which I hope to one day, I know that I too would be very strict on my employees and even myself in what was posted in an attempt to keep a good presence online. It is very hard to gain a following on any sort of platform and very easy to lose so you really must be careful in how you are perceived by others online.

In conclusion, Canadian companies should have the right to compel employees to not post on social media about their employer. While social media is a great connection tool, it is easy for things to be mis-understood or lost in translation, creating unwanted issues for the company. With the ability to spread information all across the world with social media, it is best that the information comes directly from the company or employer so that no employee is responsible for a negative backlash. Social media is a great and powerful tool that needs to be used wisely and intelligently.