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Social Networking and Work

Written by: Peter Polack

Article Overview: There are some dangers to social networking among colleagues. It's a good idea to have a clear policy in place regarding use of these sites between staff members.

Social Networking and Work

I recently received a Facebook friend request from an employee. I decided to talk with the employee face-to-face, explaining that it may not be a good idea for physicians to be sharing photographs and personal info with staff members. I'd heard some tales of warning from people at other companies regarding social networking at work. I looked into the formal policy on electronic communications between doctors and staff at our office. It turned out that we didn't have anything in place. After describing the need for a written policy to the Administrator, we spoke with Robyn Hankins, a lawyer who specializes in employment law. We call Ms. Hankins for several issues, from employee terminations to things like the Family Medical Leave Act.

She mentioned that a main problem with social networking media like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter is that the content is often unrelated to what would commonly be relevant and appropriate in a work relationship. The primary concern here is that if communications between an employee and supervisor opens up, this could be an in-road to claims of discrimination or harassment. For example, what if a doctor posts his vacation photos, in which he's wearing a bathing suit? A networked co-worker could take offense at the 'provocative' nature of the photos and complain of harassment.

This probably sounds a bit extreme, especially to the many physicians out there who have close professional friendships with their employees, which include vacations, dinners, and happy hours at the bar.

Still, Ms. Hankins points out that she's seen cases in which subordinate workers intentionally invite their superiors as friends, then search for a way to sue the medical practice. She said that about 90% of sexual harassment cases are brought up by one of the 'friends' of the accused.

Along with a written policy prohibiting personal email and social networking between professionals and their subordinates, there should be a general anti-harassment grievance process in place. This should be used by a staff member who feels they have been harassed by a co-worker, even if the problem has been occurring on-line or otherwise out of the workplace. Otherwise, if the employee feels there's no remedy to the problem, the practice could be held accountable.

When considering digital communications between physicians and their staff, it becomes clear that it's easy for the proper context to become lost. What may seem innocent at face value can be creatively misconstrued as harassing or suggestive. If you think that these sorts of things just blow over as time progresses, I must remind you that there's a permanent records of every message posted to these networking sites. So, long after your retirement, remember that your grandchildren may be reading your embarrassing or inappropriate wall posts or tweets. Sometimes, less is more.

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Article Tags: bathing suit, co worker, electronic communications, employee terminations, employment law, facebook, family medical leave, family medical leave act, happy hours, medical leave act, medical practice, networking media, provocative nature, sexual harassment cases, social networking, subordinate workers, subordinates, twitter, vacation photos, work relationship



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