Tweeting in the workplace: Do you have clear guidelines set?

Recent research by ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) found just over half of all workers (55%) now use social media sites at work, either on computers or mobile phones, costing British firms billions of pounds a year in lost productivity.

The problem is created when employees are spending time on personal profiles and pages when they should be working. What is of deeper concern however is when employees use social media platforms to speak negatively of their place of work or worse, their boss. Another study conducted showed almost 40% of British employees criticize their ‘workplace’ on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. In addition, one in five admitted slandering their bosses on them.

There have been some high profile cases of employees being dismissed for bringing the company into disrepute because of comments either about work or colleagues on these social media platforms and The HR Dept is certainly dealing with more cases where employers have discovered tweets or messages which have caused issues within the workplace. The key of course, is communicating to all staff what your IT and Social Media policy is!

The HR Dept has written an IT/Social Media policy for employers containing guidelines on how to manage employees in this complicated area. If interested, contact your local HR Dept for more information.

www.hrdept.co.uk