Social Agreements

TOPIC #2: SOCIAL MEDIA THESIS

There is a time and place for everything, both the spoken word and those words typed on social media. While freedom of speech is a right for all citizens of the United States, being gainfully employed is a privilege that can be taken away when we don’t understand professional boundaries. The question we should ask ourselves is not, should we get involved or is this our business? It is, do we care enough about the company that employs us? Do we care enough to teach those around us to know that there is a place called “too far” that should stay off public forums such as Facebook and twitter?

TOPIC #2: SOCIAL MEDIA PERSUASIVE ARGUMENT

When should we get involved, and when is it not our business or our problem? You are “friends” on Facebook with a coworker. He routinely posts information, on his personal Facebook page, related to your workplace. Sometimes, he makes negative statements about your boss and about the company. You are concerned that his statements might create problems for your company by depicting it publicly in a negative way. You suspect he is making some of these posts during work hours and perhaps using company equipment, although you do not use Facebook on your company computer or during work hours. Do you “unfriend” your coworker and tell him why you did it, or do you just “unfriend” him without explanation? Is it your responsibility to call the situation to the attention of your boss and risk getting your coworker into trouble? Is there any way that this could make you look bad or cause you problems at work? Do you just ignore the situation and hope it goes away? What do you do?

THOUGHTS FROM SOURCE:

I'll get to those examples in a moment, but first let me say this: Everyone has the right to say, tweet or blog what they want. That's freedom of speech. But freedom of speech is often mistaken for freedom from consequences, and working people are guaranteed no such thing.

 The legal parameters get murky, but if you're posting comments that are racist, sexist, xenophobic, bigoted or just plain vile and somebody connects you to your company or organization, then you are, by association, making that company or organization look bad. And you may well find yourself out of a job.

Again, that's not restricting freedom of speech. You have a right to free speech, but you don't have a right to a job that will tolerate you posting material that could damage a company's reputation or workplace morale.

Bibliography

Huppke, R. (2017, January 27). Unfettered freedom of speech or continued employment. You decide. . Retrieved May 30, 2017, from Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/careers/ijustworkhere/ct-huppke-work-advice-social-media-0129-biz-20170127-column.html

Unfettered freedom of speech or continued employment. You decide.