1. How can an employee’s use of social media positively or negatively affect their company even if done on their own time and from their own personal account(s)? 2. How much should an employer be able to regulate or monitor their employees’ online or social media activity within the workplace? What about when the employee is outside the workplace?

Question 1

The use of social media in the workplace can have both advantages and disadvantages to the organization depending on how it is utilized. One of how an employee can use social media positively is when advertising the institution goods and services through various online platforms (Bucher, Fieseler & Suphan, 2013). This, in turn, will increase the organization’s productivity and market stability as more customers will consider acquiring the organization’s goods and finding more regarding the type of services the business offers. On the other hand, there are still negative ways in which an employee’s use of social media can affect the organization; for instance, a bad reputation with these platforms is likely to change the organization. Any form of misconduct from the employee more so in the social media platforms will end up portraying a wrong impression of the institution where the person operates. Workers can also carelessly post updates about promotions that the institution might not be ready yet to release.

Question 2

A worker’s objective is not only to safeguard their institution but also to protect their workers, and with social media increasing, it may seem impossible to put regulations into place; however, with useful guidelines and policies, employers and workers can both feel at ease. It is thus sufficient for both the employer and the employee to regulate the use of social media both in the workplace and outside the workplace. This will ensure that within the online realm, things are kept professional from both parties as an employer would not need a worker to leave work and talk negatively about the company to all their online friends (Bucher, Fieseler & Suphan, 2013). Therefore, it is best for the company to come up with policies that will, in turn, regulate the use of social media both in the workplace and outside workplace regarding the company’s operations and other duties.

Reference

Bucher, E., Fieseler, C., & Suphan, A. (2013). The stress potential of social media in the workplace. Information, Communication & Society, 16(10), 1639-1667.