I recently read a status update on Facebook from a friend who stated she should be working on a report, but instead she needed to check the status updates of her friends for the morning. She did so from work, at her desk, on the company’s computer and time.
Today’s technology makes it super easy to get caught up in chatting, texting, and tweeting – even while on the clock. Yesterday, an attorney visited The View. A viewer of the show asked a question about emailing while on the job. The viewer wanted to know if her employer could read her emails since they were sent while on the clock and from her work computer.
Of course, the attorney replied. What you do on your company’s computer and time can be tracked, seen, printed, and used by the employer for whatever purpose they want: to show you are not working the hours you need to, or that you are speaking poorly of the management, or that you are doing something that you should otherwise not do while on the clock.
Social networking comes so easily these days that people forget that what they put out there into cyberworld can be viewed by all. We hop onto Facebook to read a status and post one, and the next thing we know, ten or fifteen minutes have vanished. And once you post something, it is generally there to stay. When you do this at home on your own time and computer you may face a few issues from work, particularly if you talk poorly about the job, company, or boss. I know of one person who commented in a derogatory manner on Facebook about her company and was fired. She’s fighting this decision now; in the meantime, she hasn’t worked in nearly a year.
But get online while at work, on the clock, and on the company’s computer, and spend time socializing and emailing and you could face even worse problems. Most employers have rules about computer usage. Many state in print that what you do while on the company’s computer can be used against you in the future.
Michael Zeldes, Senior Vice President of HUB International Northeast, says, “Everyone needs to think of social media as virtual town hall meetings.” The good news, he expresses, is that companies can hear what the public has to say about their products and services. “The bad news is, social media could lead to damages or liability if not properly managed.”
Employers can take steps to limit the amount of time employees spend on personal social networking during office hours. Joe Silverman, CEO of New York Computer Help, an IT service business, says, “As an IT service provider, we have many customers who ask us to limit website usage for their company’s employees.”
This can be accomplished by configuring firewalls to restrict sites such as Facebook and Twitter, along with email access. “We’ve had some companies go as far as tracking all of their employee’s clicks and whereabouts on the Internet.” Silverman does not recommend this. “You are creating a factory-style approach that restricts any form of freedom or personalization.”
Silverman doesn’t restrict Internet usage for his employees, because he says, “To do so, I’d fear that my staff would not enjoy working for me and, instead, would want to run home just to stay on top of their emails, social networking, and banking.”
Instead he uses incentives and bonuses to motivate employees. “Typically, the employees will ensure their jobs at the end of the day are accomplished to meet these goals.” If they can’t juggle social media and work, they are not the type of multi-tasker he hopes to hire for his company.
Employees who use social media during work should keep several things in mind. First, anything that is put out into cyberworld on company time on a company computer is the company’s property. If you write a personal email, keep in mind that the email can be used against you in the future.
Also, understand the employer has the right to track the amount of time you spend on the computer doing personal tasks, such as tweeting and emailing, versus how much time you spend working.
Finally, remember that anything you print in an email or on a social networking site could be ready by anyone at anytime, even if, in the future, you delete that post or email. Don’t say something online that you don’t want the whole world to know.
Kathy Murdock is the owner of Aniza Marketing. She works as a full time writer and web designer, and is also the mother of two beautiful children and one hyper but loveable dog.
