دانلود رایگان مقاله کمک کارکنان، سیاست رسانه های اجتماعی را درک و دنبال میکند

Abstract

While social media can have significant benefits for organizations, the social media presences and postings of employees can be problematic for organizations. This is especially true when employees have connections to co-workers and managers. Workers posting content deemed inappropriate or detrimental to the organization has led to a significant number of workers being fired for their social media behavior. To avoid such situations, organizations should create social media policies to guide employee content. Organizational implementation of social media policy is on the rise, but serious questions remain as to how to make it effective. One crucial question is how well employees know and understand their employer’s policy. In this article, we discuss how to communicate social media policies to workers and help their understanding. To inform our recommendations, we draw on exploratory data from a sample of young adult workers regarding their knowledge of their own company’s social media policies.

5. Conclusion

In light of our arguments, the extant relevant literature, and the results of our exploratory study, we suggest–—for all organizations–—the development of comprehensive policies regarding social media use and online conduct. Newer workers may or may not be aware of their employer’s social media policy; longer-tenured employees may not understand the policy; and senior employees may have started before such policies were adopted. We therefore suggest ample training on social media policies across all levels of the organization. Moreover, future research is needed in this area, specifically in regard to the effectiveness of various training methods. This research could help organizations determine how social media policies are best communicated to and understood by employees. In many of the legal cases surrounding workers terminated for social media posts, the terminated worker seemingly had little awareness of the potential consequences his or her behavior might provoke (O’Connor & Schmidt, 2015; Schmidt & O’Connor, 2015). This lack of awareness could, in part, be due to policies that lack clear descriptions of how the policies are enforced and how workers who violate them will be punished. Social media policies can help workers understand their legal rights, what content is and is not appropriate, and what content may have negative consequences. Well-drafted policies that are crafted in line with existing legal standards may also help an organization avoid or defend itself from litigation. Providing examples of prohibited conduct–—as recommended by the NLRB–—will help employees to better understand the policy and possibly reduce the likelihood that they will later sue the organization (Purcell, 2012; Schmidt & O’Connor, 2015). If litigation does arise, a clearly articulated policy can provide direction for the court when deciding the matter at hand. In conclusion, we know for certain from our exploratory study that employees are posting comments about their co-workers, jobs, and customers. Some of these comments, especially those about customers, are negative. Most distressingly, this negative talk only increases with tenure. To avoid potential legal issues, employers should educate their employees about company social media policies early and often, with training a potentially fruitful way of doing so. Work life and online life are intertwined, and organizations need to create and communicate policies that help workers understand what behaviors are appropriate.