I read a blog on the “Ethical and Legal Aspects of Workplace Social Media” and I was very intrigued, as this was something I had encountered with my previous summer job. The blog was written by Chris MacDonald after he observed a panel discussion on the topic. Chris goes on to explain the difficulty organizations have when it comes to social media usage in the workplace.

Social media is a great tool to connect with customers, yet it can also reduce productivity in the workplace and open up all kinds of ethical discussions like whether or not the company can gain access to potential profiles in order to engage in screening. The panel goes on to say that the number one solution is to provide guidelines for employees to follow when it comes to social media. I personally disagree with this.

I believe that the risk of allowing this is too high. Social media is a great tool and should only be used by the company through company profiles rather than several individual accounts. This guarantees there will be no encounters with ethical decisions nor will the company lose its employees productivity in the workplace.