(CNN) — Rants about your boss or your job may have once been reserved for during after-work drinks at a bar, but employee gripes are now being voiced in the social media sphere.
Workplace complaints posted on popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace could get you fired. But one federal agency has taken an unusual step to protect one complaining worker.
The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against a Connecticut ambulance service company after it fired a worker for posting unflattering and sometimes vulgar comments about her boss on Facebook.
The organization accused the company of illegally terminating Dawnmarie Souza and denying her access to union representation during an investigatory review. The federal agency is arguing that Souza’s criticism of her boss on Facebook is generally “a protected concerted activity.”
But workers should still be wary about what they post on social media sites. About a quarter of employers surveyed by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics in 2009 had disciplined an employee for improper activities on social networking sites. If a worker posts something negative, and a manager finds it, he or she can legally be fired, some employment attorneys say.
CNN asked experts on social media etiquette in the workplace: How can you engage in online forums without losing your job?
1. Think before you post
Imagine if the comment you posted or tweeted will appear in the local newspaper the next day, says Tyson B. Snow, an employment attorney at Manning Curtis Bradshaw & Bednar LLC in Utah. While that rule of thumb may sound extreme, Snow says it is a safe way to manage your content.
On a social media site, the audience is unlimited, and the content is permanent. An employee may post one photo and quickly remove it, but someone could still archive the page or make a copy, he says.
I have never been on the facebook sight, nor do I intend to.
I think that it is very sad that individuals feel the need to wash their dirty laundry on a public sight.
I had a work colleague who took time off as sick leave and foolishly posted on facebook about her holidays, clubing etc. forgeting that a lot of her so called friends were also work colleagues. Once word got back to the bosses she was rightfully sacked, as they were paying her sick leave.
If you feel the need to have 400 plus associates and call them friends, then you obviously do not
know the true meaning of the word friend.
.
Facebook is a public forum and it is not as private as people perceive it to be. Employees or applicants need to be responsible as to what they post on their walls. There is nothing which can justify posting rude or degrading comments about a coworker or one’s boss. Some persons have like 400 plus friends. Out of this number, how many persons are really your friends? how many persons would you really meet face to face to tell them about your day at work. Life is just about ethics and the way you perceive yourself. I dont think that anyone who highly values himself/herself would post inappropriate photos of himself or comments about others. The saddened part of all this is that some persons dont see anything wrong with their behaviours
I beleive that people need to realize that fb is not a place to put all of your life story.People use and abuse all of those social networkings to put down thier everyday life story and it should not be that way. Fb and all of the other social networks are to socialize, they are not to put your everyday problems,work issues and so on,on there.We should learn from those mistakes we make,avoid confrontations or problems or even embrassment because these networks have connections…we are not the only ones on there and as soon as someone sees your status or whatever comments we make they talk about it and it then spreads it like wild fire and cause trouble.So my advice to everyone is to just becareful what you post or comments you make on these social networks and leave your private life or work issues out of it.
@mr d: The word freely is sometimes over exaggerated. Freely does not mean that you have to be rude and say all those negative things. Be decent to the Father first, then yourself , than you can be decent to others. Being free does not give the right to say whatever one wants to because this is his/her mouth.
Let us clean ourselves. Our mouth should profess life instead of death since the power of life and death lies in the tongue. Ahem forgotten the golden rule ‘ Do unto others (Bothers) as you would like them to do to you and your the families. We are each others keeper.
It is very disgusting at the kind of dirtyness that comes from the mouth of some of the person on FB. Young ladies and Men should take pride in their bodies. It does not belong to them … It is on loan to them whilst passing thru this earth and should be the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Let us respect ourselves!
@D/CA for JESUS: hm mmmmmmmmmmmm Hmmmmmmm
We have freedom of choice but lets not forget that same freedom can get us into trouble when we take too much liberty. I know this one girl who posted on fb about beating up her landlord and breaking down the apt cause she was unhappy with him. Yah she had freedom to talk but it wasnt too long after he kicked her out. so lets be careful what we post, post something uplifting.
Remember there are consquences for our actions.. and postings
It’s all about permission
Who sees and who doesn’t see your page
If your facebook profile is public you should utilize codes to voice your negative opinions because even if you don’t get fired chances are you could be the recipient of career sabotage as your boss will do everything in his/her power to hold you back. If you settings are private DO NOT ACCEPT YOUR BOSS AS A FRIEND PERIOD and in the eventuality that you have to create a group for him/her where they really can’t see anything you do
ask yourself.. WHAT WOULD JESUS SAY ON HIS FACEBOOK PAGE??? Something good right? something decent right? something to help someone right? something to make someone happy right? soemthing edifying right? then do just that…. and another thing… watch what status you …”like”….mmmmm…
come on ppl if we cant speak freely on a social network where can we do it
well i believe f.b in particular have almost become a necessity,,,,since it is a cheap way to keep contact with family n friends,,,i think b4 one post on f.b they should be wary of any repercussions,,,its part of ur social life and if u post bad statements on there especially about your work then actions could and should be taken against u,,,,people when applying for jobs especially those u have to send via e-mail,,,,the first place ur prospective employer looks is on ur facebook page,,,,cause this would tell them alot more about u,,,,,so keep this in mind,,,,some of us put up some pix which questions our character