Saturday, September 05, 2009
Has Facebook become a peeping site for employers?
The High Street electronics chains Currys and PC World face embarrassment after staff were caught posting abusive and offensive comments on the social networking site Facebook. Around 3,000 people have become members of the Facebook discussion group in which past and present employees post messages about customers. DSG International, the shops' parent company, is understood to have launched an investigation into the abuse after some staff posted messages under their real names. A spokeswoman for DSG International, said some comments on the unofficial "DSGI Employees" group page were posted by former members of staff.
Earlier this year it emerged that Marks and Spencers staff ridiculed had ridiculed their customers as "idiots and cheap little b*******" in another Facebook group.
Tesco staff also branded shoppers "moronic" and "smelly" on a similar forum and Waitrose launched an investigation after they found descriptions of customers as "pikey skanks" on the same website.
British Airways took action against staff who complained about their customers' "stupid American accents" on Facebook.
Virgin was also embarrassed when employees labelled some fliers "chavs".
...So, what does natural yogurt suggest employees do? Simple, avoid any Facebook group linked in any way to your employment. Employers are getting nasty and they monitor all internet content about them. Anyone identified as posting content that is perceived as negative to a company's brand is likely to be sacked. You have given away your right to free speech and freedom of expression by signing your contract of employment. Of course this same free speech and freedom of expression is fully available to ex-employees and all other members of the public, they can write whatever they wish, without any comeback. But everybody who is accepting the company pound is bound to secrecy! I suggest that you never write about issues concerning your workplace on a forum like Facebook.
Of course there are other avenues where you can express yourself. You can always set up a blog or post to a forum under a username that is not your street name. The trouble with this is that your identity has to be kept secret and you can never claim credit for your content! Also your writing must never give away who or where you are! This underground blogging and forum useage has a place but because of the steps you must take to safeguard your job, your influence and audience is very small. You could write a blog as an allegory but then internet users would never find your blog using a search engine because their search fields may not be listed.
I sniff around the internet and find many interesting things. Ordinary people write good blogs which give a good insight into the real world, not the public face that companies shout from their rooftops. It is an army of bloggers who write about the real world but they very often have to allegorize to get their story across. Some bloggers give up the game and simply leave the regiment .
The High Street electronics chains Currys and PC World face embarrassment after staff were caught posting abusive and offensive comments on the social networking site Facebook. Around 3,000 people have become members of the Facebook discussion group in which past and present employees post messages about customers. DSG International, the shops' parent company, is understood to have launched an investigation into the abuse after some staff posted messages under their real names. A spokeswoman for DSG International, said some comments on the unofficial "DSGI Employees" group page were posted by former members of staff.
Earlier this year it emerged that Marks and Spencers staff ridiculed had ridiculed their customers as "idiots and cheap little b*******" in another Facebook group.
Tesco staff also branded shoppers "moronic" and "smelly" on a similar forum and Waitrose launched an investigation after they found descriptions of customers as "pikey skanks" on the same website.
British Airways took action against staff who complained about their customers' "stupid American accents" on Facebook.
Virgin was also embarrassed when employees labelled some fliers "chavs".
...So, what does natural yogurt suggest employees do? Simple, avoid any Facebook group linked in any way to your employment. Employers are getting nasty and they monitor all internet content about them. Anyone identified as posting content that is perceived as negative to a company's brand is likely to be sacked. You have given away your right to free speech and freedom of expression by signing your contract of employment. Of course this same free speech and freedom of expression is fully available to ex-employees and all other members of the public, they can write whatever they wish, without any comeback. But everybody who is accepting the company pound is bound to secrecy! I suggest that you never write about issues concerning your workplace on a forum like Facebook.
Of course there are other avenues where you can express yourself. You can always set up a blog or post to a forum under a username that is not your street name. The trouble with this is that your identity has to be kept secret and you can never claim credit for your content! Also your writing must never give away who or where you are! This underground blogging and forum useage has a place but because of the steps you must take to safeguard your job, your influence and audience is very small. You could write a blog as an allegory but then internet users would never find your blog using a search engine because their search fields may not be listed.
I sniff around the internet and find many interesting things. Ordinary people write good blogs which give a good insight into the real world, not the public face that companies shout from their rooftops. It is an army of bloggers who write about the real world but they very often have to allegorize to get their story across. Some bloggers give up the game and simply leave the regiment .
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]