Is Social Media a Danger For Employers?

Social media tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. do present innumerable opportunites to businesses. But it also presents a growing danger in the workplace for employers and employees alike.

Employer’s freedom for its employees to use Social media websites raises the chances of confidential information being leaked or it may also cause damage to the Brand Image. Employers are facing challenges when disciplining employees over their use of social media, such as Facebook or Twitter.

10-nation study that surveyed information technology (IT) decision makers and end users, said 52% of organizations prohibit the use of social media applications or similar collaboration tools at work. India, with 96% of its IT decision makers admitting to prohibiting the use of these social media tools in the workplace, ranks on top in viewing these tools through the security prism.

The biggest reason cited by Indian IT decision makers is security.

Technology is constantly evolving, far more rapidly than privacy law, which comparatively stumbles along like a crumbling car. Effective social media policies are key to managing risk and maximizing potential.

The very purpose of Social Media is to bring your thoughts and life into the public domain and therefore making them no longer private, which may lead to the violation of company policies if they share some confidential information. This however can be a problem for employers.

Over 35 per cent of companies operating in various sectors across India are engaged in corporate surveillance to gain advantage over their competitors and are even spying on their employees via social networking websites, according to a just concluded survey undertaken by apex industry body, The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Urban cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and other tier 1 and 2 cities and towns dominate the social networking usage in India.

Social media is the future of business communication. India has the largest number of young population and the social media is still on the growth in the country. Three out of 10 internet users in the country used the social media.

Infosys Uses Social Media to Engage Employees and Increase Competitive Edge. It desires to create a social media platform to foster employee interaction and boost job satisfaction. Social media can therefore be very useful as well as of very much dangerous if not used correctly.

The message is be careful with what you post on your social media page, particularly about your work, those you work with and those you work for.