What are the rules of using social media at work?

[Sara]

What are some guidelines of using social media sites at work?

[Daniel]

All depends on what state you live and work in. Here in California we have a Labor Board. Employers cannot fire you for practicing free speech unless you break the law or disclose company information. But you can be sued for liable if you say something, even just on Facebook, that is not true. If you hurt a companies business by saying something that is untrue, you could be in deep trouble. You should try to keep things anonymous if possible but California has great consumer and employee protection laws.

In states like New Hampshire there are no such laws. In New Hampshire you can be fired for ANY reason. If they do not like you any more than can fire you in New Hampshire without giving you a reason and there is nothing you can do about it. Other states are like New Hampshire although you will have to research to find out the laws in your own state.

While you are being paid by your employer you should not be using social media sites during work hours. If you get caught you can be in trouble. In California a company has to give you 3 written warnings before they can fire you, unless you break the law or do something major against the rules. In California, for instance, if an employer caught you using Facebook one time and fired you, they would likely be sued and you could get a lot of money and your job back. But once you are given 3 written warnings then they can fire you after the 3rd time.

[oopsoohooh]

this will vary between each company

some are strict, others are lax

[A]

Simple... don't use them. You get paid to work not play.

[squeezie_1999]

In our company the rules are simple: work time is to be spent working; company equipment is to be used for company business. Being on social media, making personal phonecalls, texting your girlfriend, checking your facebook pages during work time are all grounds for being fired. Employees are advised to leave their personal cellphones in the car. Personal devices that can connect to the internet are simply not permitted in the building. This has eliminated a lot of problems with data security and poor performers. Once employees get used to it, they generally say it's a good idea. If there is a personal emergency and an employee needs to be contacted or call out it is done through a switchboard and logged, though not recorded.

When not working or out of the building for lunch or a break, what an employee does is his or her own business, but we periodically remind our valued co-workers, that discussing confidential company information under any circumstances is a major no-no. Doing so, especially on a public forum like social media, will usually result in being instantly fired for cause.

My personal observation and experience is that people who cannot live for a few hours of the workday without checking in to social media are usually addicted to it and make very poor employees.

[Jan409]

Ask your employer
Some allow you access during your lunch hour, other don't
So ask your line manager what their policy is

UK