So we're working on a Social Media policy at work. Because of the rapid spread of Facebook, Twitter, etc. we wanted to make sure that people understood the risks and responsibilities with those tools. As a large part of that, we've informed staff that talking about work, coworkers in a negative fashion is probably not a good idea. We've had many instances of people taking to facebook and complaining about X coworker or X manager at their job. While I'm all for freedom of speech, one of the things you just don't do is write public commentary about where you work - that just seems like common sense which seems to be lacking around here sometimes. This policy is being put together by my department. There's no real penalties for it, just raising awareness of the damage you can do.
I sat down with our manager of HR late last week before I left for Vegas and she raised her concerns about my Facebook and about how the stuff I write is 'unbecoming' for a manager here. Now, let me perfectly clear: I do not post about work on Facebook (That's what here is for! HAH). However, I have a group of friends where no topic is taboo. I had made sausage soup last week, and my sister commented about how the sausage bits looked like testicles... so it was a testicle soup. That was probably as salicious as my postings get.
That is unbecoming of management here apparently. And while she's 'all for free speech', you have to represent the company good everywhere.
Well, that's just a crock of shit and I told her as much. In the end, it's my fault. While I do try to keep work and real life separate, there was the inevitable encroachment of coworkers in my friends list. Problem solved, all coworkers removed. It's a shame that there's confusion on what constitutes private life.
Looking back, the slippery slope of social media policies was one thing I had been concerned with at the beginning, but hadn't expected to slide down so quickly. Lesson learned. Anonymous posting on message boards is the way to go!
