Janet CollinsSpying on Staff
April 26th 2009 07:00
There’s being some interesting cases lately of employees losing their jobs because of their online conversations. Mostly these employees have gone to their social networking sites and criticised or even rubbished their bosses.
The warning is clear to everyone. If you want to have a bitch about your employer, it’s best not to do it online. Bagging your boss on Facebook, Twitter or any other social-networking site may just cost you your job .
This week, activity on a social networking site cost another employee her job but it had nothing to do with criticising the company she worked for. In Zurich, Switzerland, an insurance worker was found visiting her social network site while off work on sick leave.
The company, Nationale Suisse defended its action in a statement saying the woman said she was unable to work in front of a computer and needed to lie in the dark. It wasn’t so much about what she had done on the site but more to do with an abuse of trust, the announcement said. The woman defended her actions saying she had simply been surfing Facebook in bed on her iPhone.
While companies are often quick to dispel their actions are spying – and Nationale Swisse immediately did so in this case – social networking is spawning a whole new industry dedicated to online spying, even if it isn’t officially called that. The whole issue has triggered quite a lot of commentary and debate of late about an employer’s right to secretly investigate the personal activity of an employee.
Long before the internet and social networking even existed, it was pretty much a given that you didn’t rubbish your employer publicly. We’ve all done it over a drink or a telephone call, but that is a lot different to criticising them in a public domain, even if you think few people will get to see it.
So in the cases where a company sees a comment as something that can damage their reputation, shouldn’t they have the right to dismiss the offender?
An article in The Sydney Morning Herald recently revealed a company in Sydney that actually specialises in this activity offering reputation management services. Of course, “reputation management” includes a whole range of services, including managing the reputation of the company throughout the media.
The company, formed about eight months ago, is SR7 and specialises in “online risk and reputation management” and James Griffin, director, says that business is booming for the company because of some recent public relations disasters.
The article referred to a few extreme cases where two Dominos employees uploaded a video of themselves fouling customers food onto YouTube and young KFC staff posting pictures of some of the staff bathing in the kitchen sinks onto a social networking site.
No one would disagree that both of these examples demonstrate pretty disgraceful behaviour by employees, even so far as to say the companies were well within their right to dismiss them, but is online investigation of staff ethical?
David Vaile, an executive director of UNSW’s Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre, says that SR7 may be acting unethically saying the issue raised questions over the boundary between public and private comments and that this kind of activity could backfire.
“The boss,” he said “is operating on the basis that this is some sort of global publication that reflects on their company but that’s not the intention of the person.”
Even if we were to side with the boss when it comes down to protecting their brand or the company name. how far should this type of investigation go? In the case of the woman in Switzerland this went a lot further than managing a company reputation.
What is also interesting is that SR7 claims to have represented a prominant politician and their clients include large corporations including blue chip organisations and government departments.
Sourced: www.smh.com.au www.reuters.com
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Comment by Mau-Medellin
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I think the line needs to be drawn somewhere, and I am most definitely opposed to big businesses spying on their employees.
How many of us have been ill, and still used our computers? I know I have been tucked away in bed, but still used my computer to help with the boredom of being sick and feeling blue.
The difference as I see it is not so much using the computer when sick, but the reasons your using it for. It is very difficult to concentrate on complex tasks when you're ill, and in that respect I think Nationale Suisse were out of line.
With regards to rubbishing ones employer though, or colleagues... well that's just such a stupid thing to do, and these people may actually be breaking the law if their statements are unfounded. People don't seem to consider the legal ramifications of posting libellous statements online.
Great arcticle Janet
Mau-Medellin
Comment by Janet Collins
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I agree that a line should be drawn somewhere and you raise a lot of good points about using the computer when you are sick. It doesn't necessarily mean you are well enough to go to work and there certainly is very little to do to relieve the boredom, as you say.
Thanks for dropping by.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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the same kind of thing happens with people who live close to their workplaces, when they call in sick they dont want to be seen shopping or walking around near their office - their boss could look out the window at any time
Comment by Janet Collins
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Yes, the article wasn't really clear about how the woman was caught out going into the site. She apparently hadn't said anything about the company but just the fact she was well enough to go in there was enough for them.
The shopping one was a good example too.
Thanks.
Comment by Michelle Sweeney
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Comment by Janet Collins
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Didn't they at least give you a warning?
Janet
Comment by Michelle Sweeney
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