Use of Social Media at National Labor Relation Board

Use of Social Media at National Labor Relation Board

Introduction

Social media plays an increasingly important role in the modern world. In fact, social media websites have become a common source of information, enable social networking and exchange of views. However, it has also become a concern for employers in relation to the reputation of organization and damage to business. The social media allow users to access and update their data with the use of social media websites or applications. For example, users can read and send messages to the network from their mobile phone, synchronize the data in profiles and update their status or location using another website. No doubt, such involvement of employees in social media for the company could be a real asset, but the potential risk associated with the use of social media at workplace cannot be avoided. For example, if a company is launching a new product and most of its 1,000 strong workforce in a positive light writes about a new product on their wall on Facebook or to run their microblog - coverage of such advertising is priceless. However, it is equally imperative to know that these are the people of organizations who can write negative remarks about the product.

Unfortunately, fear of social media often prohibits employees to use social media websites such as Facebook or Twitter in relation to the image of the company. It would not be wrong to say that rules for the use of social media by employees are more strict than the positive examples of how well and properly social media communicate information about the business. Employees who have once read about layoffs at companies caused by the employee's comments on FB, they are afraid to write anything because they are not sure of the reaction from their superiors.

Discussion

The National Labor Relation Board (NLRB) also recognizes the importance of social media but do not ignore the negative consequences of it. In fact, employees are users of social media who are more and more involved in discussions on various forums and through blogs, post information and comments in online encyclopedias (Rice, 2011). It can be seen that the use of such sites as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc. is common by employees not only for private purposes but also professional at their workplace. In addition, the ethical principles applicable at NLRB include the nature of communication such as openness and honesty that should stand out in communications made through social media.

In the realm of social media, the policy is also mixed with the sphere of work. It is important to know that Social relations at work have existed as long as the work itself. They are part of the necessary interaction with our peers to interact, meet, generate bonding and enhance our knowledge and skills (Kirkpatrick, 2010). No doubt, there are some unwritten conventions that allow employees to maintain a degree of privacy to discuss personal issues in the office as well as ...