Keeping Employers from Looking at Employees’ Facebook Profiles
What is the latest fad on the internet today? Employers reading Facebook profiles of their employees. Facebook, Myspace, Blackplanet, etc., are social websites that are fun and usually used for socializing. Different news stations and T.V. shows have even covered this particular topic.
These days employers have browsed through employee profiles from some of these social websites, as well as others. To me, doing this kind of thing is a violation of a person’s privacy. It is also unprofessional. How does it violate a person’s privacy?
Well, let’s see. It violates a person’s privacy due to the fact that this is “social” information, data usually not freely given to the employer. It was entered away from the work place. Such information is not put on an application for a job. How is this unprofessional? It is unprofessional regarding work ethics to the degree that the employer is failing/has failed to realize that they are using bias against that particular employee, using this kind of data to terminate the employee, etc.
Also, the employer is not keeping work issues at the work place and playtime/social issues at the house. To add, it seems as if that employer fails to realize that what that employee does away from home, believes in, etc., is left at home away from the work place. The actions of their employee, dating habits, etc., is usually entered voluntarily as personal data that usually gets entered on their personal profile and often includes what they are doing away from their job.
This type of information is then entered as a means of communication with other people “away from the job” via the internet. The question is: What is/are the intentions of the employers checking on their employees private lives by browsing profiles, etc. on these social websites? It’s almost like the employers have become internet peeping Toms!
It looks like the employer is up to no good doing this. And, there is no good excuse for this behavior, unless they are looking for a sick criminal. Employers should be fired for this. Apparently employees are the ones doing the right thing by keeping work matters at the job and play/social matters at the house.
There should be a button or system invented to be able to identify that employer and location they are using that particular computer to obtain information on that employee, on that social website. That way, a notification would be sent to the employee and website like Facebook, so the matter could be handled properly.
Facebook should come up with this program and maybe call it “Faceshield”, a program where employers are barred access to such information. Everyone has the right to let their hair down and be themselves away from the work place.