Social Networking Sites And Work Privacy Issues

Social networks have been making a splash in the internet world over the past couple of years. In some studies into the monitoring of social media activity by employees has

Private information that was previously segregated now becomes easily accessible to employers, colleagues, recruiters, and clients, among other perhaps unintended audiences” (Abril, 2012, para. 4). Yes, most social media sites attain privacy settings but one must always remember there are hiccups in everything on the internet and no guarantees leaks will not occur.

When looking for prospective employees, employers do not enjoy rifling through Facebook pictures of obscene pictures and statuses with crude language. Bad behavior of employees, even off the clock, made public by social media

Employers on our social media, this is a fact that everyone in this age accepts but do not necessarily like or want. Some people say it is okay to check social media when looking for who to hire, but this infringes on privacy rights. If an employer finds something discriminating on a profile and decides not to hire the person this is not okay, even though some may say it is because you want to know what you are getting into. An employer could find information that was not even true on social media, this would not work in favor of employment. It is not okay to check social media when employers are hiring because it invades privacy, discriminates and the information provided on the site could be false.

One of the most highly debated issues in the business world is the use of social media profiles as a determining factor in the hiring process. Some people feel that using someone’s social media profile is an invasion of privacy because it uses something from their personal life to determine their professional success. As long as the company follows some basic guidelines I believe there is nothing wrong with them looking into the profiles of their potential employees. It is important to point out that while looking at many of the different ethical ideologies, this practice does not violate the ethical conducts. Teleologists would agree that looking into someones profile will ensure that you are hiring someone who will conduct themselves in a proper manner. Therefore, the means of looking into their personal lives justifies the ends in which you hire a professional with good character. Deontologists would likely agree that as long as the company does not try to find loop holes to see into protected accounts that they are respecting the rights of the individual and therefore are not being unethical. I believe that it is reasonable for a company to use social media profiles as a basis for hiring because everything posted on the internet is public domain, it allows them to get an understanding of who the potential client is, and you want to ensure that you are hiring someone who fits in to your company.

Sites such as LinkedIn helps recruiters in recruiting candidates by expanding the reach of their personal networks, contact candidates directly, and manage an array of talent (Schawbel, 2012). With most people being aware that employers do reference their profile for character check, people do believe that employers have the right to view their information in order to learn about the candidates’ personality and to ensure the person is not a liability (Budden, Elkersh, Vicknair, & Yancey, 2010). In conclusion, employers should be using social media only for job-relevant purposes. Employers should take specific steps

Prof Warren from Deakin University indicates researchers have found that a lot of business organisations have no policy regarding social media, with very few offering any social media training at all.

Olivia Perkins writes in “More Than Half of Employers Now Use Social Media to Screen Job Candidates, Poll Says; Even Send Friend Requests”, the do’s and don’ts for creating the perfect profile. According to Perkins, interviewers prefer applicants with social media accounts over applicants without them (line 8), just to give an extra bit of knowledge to who the applicant truly is. This article relates to articles “Student Awareness of the Use of Social Media Screening by Prospective Employers” by Terri Root and Sandra McKay and “The Law and Social Media in Hiring” by Johnathon Segal because all three use a mass number of stats and percentages in their writing. “60 percent are looking for information that supports their qualifications for the

The above mentioned example is one of many questioning the credibility of the social networking sites. The fact that anyone can go to a person’s profile and save his/her picture to be used as desired is uncomfortable and disturbing. Another method for the disruption of ethical boundaries in regards to these networking channels is their utilization to conduct predatory marketing. The level of discomfort is high when a product/service is offered to a user on the basis of the needs assessment done by the exploitation of personal information. Some employers are also the culprits due to the fact that they make hiring decisions on the basis of prospective employee’s social network activities. These and many other scenarios lead problem solvers to come up with alternatives and implement productive decisions.

Utilising social media for business has been a strategy of human resource management in hiring process. Internet and technology has revolutionised the way people live and also led employers to attract and screen potential candidates on social media, such as Linkedin and Facebook (Zamaria C, 2007). The features of online platform make social media become a common method of attracting applicants for human resource function. For instance, the speed and no geographical limits are distinctive features of online recruitment (CIPD, 2010). A survey conducted by the US Society for Human Resource Management found that the number of organisations that reported using social media as an HR recruiting tool had grown from 56 percent in 2011 to 84 percent in 2015 (SHRM, 2016). Some researches reported that the use of social media is an inevitable trend of hiring strategy in the age of Internet; therefore, employers could not ignore the

Employers and schools nowadays evaluate applicants from their social media accounts. For example, the applicant’s Facebook profile could be used to get information such as age, residence and even academic history. What worries Joanna Stern in the article, “Demanding Facebook Passwords May Break Law, Say Senators” is the fact that employers and schools require employees and students to give their Facebook passwords to access their profiles. This practice poses unanticipated legal liabilities. Thus, government officials have rose against the practice. Indeed, requiring a user to share Facebook account’s password for access to the user’s profile is morally wrong and does not meet its intended objective.

Social networking sites are a dangerously sharp double-edged sword. Professional sites such as LinkedIn can showcase one’s talents and provide an advantage within a large applicant pool while personal sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, myspace, even YouTube, if used irresponsibly, can make public many aspects of an individual’s private life which can reflect negatively, when viewed by others. The article “Didn’t get that new job? You need a better Facebook score” (Garling) highlights one of the many ways prospective employers can quantify someone based on their social media presence. The article describes a process whereby hiring managers rely on a consulting firm of sorts. This firm provides a score for each applicant based on their social media presence.

Social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook have created a new ethical dilemma for many businesses. Corporations, small businesses, and even universities are struggling create policies to manage their employees social networking behaviors. Social networking access, particularly for recruiters, can provide personal information about potential employees, which would otherwise not be available. A business must follow statutes and guidelines when disclosing information to the public. Individuals on social networking sites have no such constraints. Employees can and do make comments about their employers online. Employers can and do watch what employees post online. Any individual can send or post potentially damaging information

Almost everyone in developed countries, during this day and age, has social media accounts. There are many platforms of social media including but not limited to: facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat, myspace, linkedin, etc… And there are many reasons for using these social media platforms such as: keeping contact with old friends and distant relatives, meeting new people and sharing life experiences with people around the globe, or stalking that cute girl at work but never making contact. Among these reasons, and many more is the controversial topic of whether job employers should be able to use of social media to look up applicants. I believe job employers have a right to look up potential employees because doing so would allow them to

Even though the practice of using social media to vet candidates is relatively new, there are standards already established for this process. Employers who are hesitant to use social media typically cite fear of allegations of discriminatory hiring practices. To protect themselves against legal ramifications of unfair hiring processes, employers should always consult with an employment attorney to develop policies for gathering and use of internet-based information (“The Facebook Background Check.”) An employment attorney can help