Private Messages Aren't As Private As You Think At Work

Perceived privacy of messaging apps does not shield individuals or companies from accountability

By now most employees understand the risks their personal social media activity could pose in their professional lives, but they might have a false sense of security when it comes to messaging apps. As tempting as it may be to impress colleagues with clever quips and memes in private chats, employees should remember that messaging apps are not always private, and that private conversations between colleagues, even when shared outside the workplace, could be a quick route to termination.

This reality recently hit home for five employees of Metrolinx, an Ontario Crown agency that manages public transit in the Greater Toronto Area. In Metrolinx v. Amalgamated Transit Union, five employees were at the centre of controversy after engaging in sexually inappropriate and explicit comments about some of their female colleagues over the messaging app WhatsApp on their