How I see it as a young, small fish in an old, large pond…
The Problem With Social Media in the Office
It’s no secret that social media and networking has become an integral part of the work place and personal life of much of today’s working force. The results of the survey listed on here aren’t surprising, but I think are trending to even higher percentages of company and management involvement. I am of the belief that an employer should not be concerned with what a candidate or any employee does in their personal time- everyone has their own problems and struggles and as long as they are performing their job responsibilities up to par, then that is reason they should be retained. This social networking though is creating a larger gray area though in terms of separating personal life from professional life. I once had a manager many levels higher than me invite me to be their friend on Facebook, and I wasn’t sure what to do since it was my personal page where I am not always so professionally minded, but if I didn’t accept their invite they would know that I declined their virtual friendship and could be seen as insulting. It seems like such a silly way to injure a professional relationship, but at the same time I would hate to jeopardize how they view me based on my personal invitation. I know that ultimately it is my responsibility what information I give out, but I am comfortable saying that I act differently at work than at home. Ultimately, I accepted the invite and luckily I still have a job!
Sometimes when companies try to dive in to the online world, it feels like they just miss the target, thinking they know how to communicate with the online world just by putting their name out there. For example, there are hotel companies that have Twitter accounts with little to no activity, or Facebook pages for no real reason. I think companies like the idea that there are so many free services out there that they might as well get their name out, but to me, it would hinder my impression of a company for doing a poor job. I think these things work out much better when they are employee-created accounts, which it says that 18% of companies have on Facebook. This makes it more accessible and editable by the employees and maybe a little more down to earth since it can be less “P.C.” I like the idea of grass-roots gatherings and networking without supervision of an employee’s company.
