With the increasing use of the Internet and its ever-increasing pervasiveness throughout our everyday lives, blogging in relation to the workplace is an issue that is certainly arising throughout society. Work blogging is a matter that is increasingly becoming more commonly associated with employees of organizations that wish to express their views and opinions, and even vent frustrations and cynicisms that relate to their corporate culture throughout the workplace.
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr have made it easily accessible for employees to publish posts which relate to their employment, due to their ease and common use by a large majority of individuals. These forums provide employees with an opportunity to vent any frustrations or anger that they may have towards their workplace or corporate culture, as well as providing employees with a ‘voice’ that they feel they may not have had whilst cooperating in the workplace environment, and at the same time is allowing them the opportunity to vent their frustrations without having to worry about any consequences which may have resulted from lashing out at their employers in person. In addition to this argument, Richards J, and Kosmala K (2013), have stated that ‘Blogging platforms have become forums for employees to either individually or collectively vent frustration at the corporate culture’. I believe that this is a valid statement, as the Internet, specifically these blogging platforms and forums, are an innovative way to discuss and/or vent any issues or frustrations, and being a digital structure, has made it easier and more accessible for employees to vent whenever they feel the need.
However, at the same time, it is imperative that employees take caution when publishing any content that may attach negative affiliations to an organization. When content is posted on the blogosphere, it is put on display for anybody to read, and it is becoming more and more common that fellow employees and employers are now discovering these forums which discuss and/or bad mouth their workplace on a public website, resulting in consequences such as suspensions, written warnings, and in some cases, termination of employment.
I have had my fair share of personal experiences in terms of employment and the blogosphere, one example including a former supervisor of mine being terminated from the organization due to comments made via Facebook about my boss’s children and him and his wife’s parenting skills. As I, and a majority of my fellow employees were ‘friends’ with our supervisor on Facebook, her status update was soon reported to my boss, resulting in her immediate termination of employment, and a new social media policy being input into our workplace. Waddington, S (2012), has stated that ‘it is important to note that many organizations now have social media guidelines in place. They basically outline how to engage with social media on behalf of an organization, and more importantly to aid employees in understanding the boundaries when engaging with social media.’ In relation to this, I believe that all organizations should have some form of a social media policy implemented, as it discourages the use of social media in order to bad mouth and discuss the workplace in a negative manner, which could then lead to a decrease in customers as well as giving the organization a bad name, as word of mouth is of vital importance in the reputation of a business throughout today’s society.
The following screengrabs are taken from Facebook pages which are created for the sole purpose of venting or badmouthing employee's experiences with both customers and their workplaces. These posts are both a perfect example of how the blogosphere allows employees the opportunity to 'vent' out their frustration via social media forums.
Sources:
Richards, J and
Kosmala, K (2013); ‘In the end you can only slag people off for so long:
employee cynicism through work blogging’ New Technology, Work and Employment,
vol. 28, no. 1 pp. 68-77
Waddington, S, 2012
‘Share this: The social media handbook for PR professionals’, John Wiley &
Sons, West Sussex
Hi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteThe first aspect of your post I noticed is the length. While this issue is a pressing matter and there is much to discuss it is quite lengthy (considering the 350 word average). Slabs of text due to the length made it less easy to read. The content itself, however, was strong and you have discussed the issue of workplace harassment in the form of blogging in a well structured manner. The examples and personal anecdote gave insight into how close this issue is to home. Great use of scholarly sources. It is an insightful read however be careful of the word length. Thanks :)
Hi Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI think that your blog was easy to read and well set out. The introduction gave a good overview of what you were going to be talking about. I think that the pictures really complimented your argument well and helped the reader to be able to relate. It was effective how you explained what the pictures were and why they were relevant to your post. Good use of the readings throughout the post. I also liked how you used your own personal story to show an example of what you were talking about. Working in retail I could relate.
Thanks!
Your blog was a little uneasy to read, due to the slabs of text, but the content of your blog post is well thought out. I personally believe, and have written about, the emerging importance of blogs in providing an unbiased view on social and political events. However, there are pitfalls to everything and with blogs, it is online bullying or, 'trolling', which you have explained brilliantly.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures were great too!