Social Media Use And The Workplace

Social media use has become a daily activity for a large portion of the population. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit and other forums are commonly used for personal and business purposes. Social media is a powerful communication and networking tool; however, improper use can cause serious damage to a company's reputation, and have a negative impact on employee morale. Despite this many employers do not have effective social media policies in place regarding the use of social media by employees.

Employee conduct on social media has been the subject of both news stories and litigation across Canada. No company wants its reputation to be negatively impacted by a tweet or photo posted by an employee that goes viral. In order to outline the parameters of what is expected of employees, an effective social media policy needs to be integrated into a company's existing policies regarding protection of privacy and confidential information, workplace safety, conduct in the