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Your co-worker knows what you did this summer.
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When exposing your personal life on social media websites, should there be a line drawn between “friends” and “coworkers”?
Several dangers lurk for those who are friends with co-workers on a social media site. One is the nearly inevitable slip up announcing your absence from the office was not, in fact due to H1N1. Another is reaching that stage of regrettable euphoria at happy hour. Most co-workers probably will either not notice or care about a compromising piece of information. But some might feel compelled to share with other co-workers or… your boss.
Yes, that’s right. That woman over in cubicle 8 looks busy but she is on your Facebook page right now and what she sees disgusts her! You’d never suspect her as she sips her herbal tea from a black mug the company gave out last Christmas and adjusts her glasses. She got to work early to work on a report and has budgeted exactly 15 minutes of Facebook, Myspace stalking into her day.
You are completely unaware that you are about to be ratted on. In addition, you can’t remember “friend-ing” her. She is one of the silent social media users. The kind that have an account on every site but never make comments, have only one picture of themselves that looks like it was uploaded from the DMV and join only one fan club: the company that they work for. She is, by all classic definitions, a nark and she has become enabled and empowered by the ease of information gathering through social media.
Try to see it from her angle. It is stressful to have access to all of this information. She takes her job seriously. She arrives five minutes early every day. She never spends time at the water cooler and no one has ever spotted her in the break room. Her job, you see, is a huge source of pride. This means that your escapades are keeping her down!
Your follies take away from the integrity she works to preserve and yet she is loathe to approach you and ask you to be more mindful of your weeknight activities. It’s your business, she repeats to herself while clicking through your friend’s 50 picture album entitled: HUMP DAY BABY!
Not my business, not my business, she says. Then she comes across a post she cannot ignore. It’s a comment on your photo, number 48. In this photo, you are flung over the shoulder of a friend or maybe a bouncer. You are recognizable only by your blond hair and the green, star tattoo on your neck that you mistakenly told all the members at your company picnic about as part of an ice-breaker activity. The fact that your friend tagged you just drives the nail into the coffin.
The post says, “Bet you were worthless today! lol. I can’t even look at my computer screen without being dizzy.” The friend that posted that comment is giving you bunny ears in the picture and is, unlike you, conscious.
So there she is, sipping her tea and adjusting her glasses and now she is rocking back and forth. Surely, she thinks, you can’t perform your job today. You are probably still drunk even and that, well that violates company policy, she reasons. With a gust of energy she jumps from her seat and marches, cup in hand to Boss’ corner office. The door shuts.
An IM pops up on your screen. Boss has summoned you. You believe this IM will lead to nothing more than a normal chat because you have not suspected that she would expose your personal life. Thus you do not reapply deodorant or spritz on body spray or grab a piece of gum which, in retrospect , you definitely should have done. Boss says, I’m sure you’re aware of our drug and alcohol policy at SuperAwesome. Of course, you say and from depths of your stomach, a force created by the consumption of four too many beers rises an uncontrollable, unstoppable, loud burp.
If you want to be totally sure your boss, co-worker or other people don’t use your personal life to sabotage or otherwise harm you (whether intentional or not): one must either censor every bit of content that is posted, de-friend the people who aren’t really friends or limit your profile to only certain people.
The woman from cubicle 8 now sips her tea from Royal Doulton china after her promotion. She did, however, feel guilty before you left. As a “you’re fired” gift, she gave you the Christmas mug to remember the “good times.” The mug has weathered some wear and tear but you can still make out the SuperAwesome logo.
For information on real firings due to social media exposure see: WebProNews and KSL.com.
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