Can You Fire an Employee’s Social Media Post? Yes, for sure a company can fire you for any offensive post or content on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and other prominent social media sites? Post that hurts the sentiments of society, any group, community, religion, region, caste, or class. In particular, it is important to be aware of the company’s policy and terms and conditions, which clearly outline what types of posts are allowed and are appropriate to the company’s brand and position on the market. The pros, cons, and impact of your social media post on people around you that are connected to your cloud should be considered carefully.
What exactly is offensive content means and how does it hamper your growth?
Offensive content means “content that is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, gratuitously violent, or otherwise offensive. Hurting someone’s religious belief can also be stated as an offensive act.” Nowadays young generation finds insulting things, passing comments on social media about religious belief the move of being cool. They become potentially abusive and pass irrational comments on social media over offensive posts. India is a democratic country. Its constitution has a sovereign democratic republic with a universal adult franchise. According to article 18, Everyone has the right to express their thoughts and conscience.
Posting offensive things on your social media handle might put you in a bad light and can hamper your relationship with your co-workers and manager. The act of committing such a crime may harm your career, your job, your reputation, and even your freedom if it is illegal. Some social media laws take strict actions against such mess. Posting offensive and insensitive things on social media can even spoil your career. So, it is important to think twice before you post things that carry sensitive messages.
What are the rights of employment at workspace:
you have the right to discuss work-related issues, to share information about the work environment, salaries, bills, benefits, and relations with coworkers and union. If you believe your work conditions are not meeting your expectations, you may file a lawsuit directly with your employer or with a government agency. Using social media can be a form of protected concerted activity, but individual griping about some aspects of work is not concerted activity.
- What are “Concerted Activity” :
LEGAL DEFINITION: legal definition of concerted activity is- An employee action that concerns wages or working conditions of others in addition to the employee and that contemplates group activity.
- What is “Violation of company policy” :
Many companies have terms and conditions which they expect to be followed by their employees. The section of such condition states the type of content that is against the company decorum and is not allowed to be posted on any platform. Even though your company has none, a good thumb rule is to just avoid posting such things, which can hurt the sentiments of your colleagues. Issues like sharing your profile on public platforms like LinkedIn, passing mean comments on the cultural background of your co-workers, giving negative comments in your job or clients are included in this policy.
How to decide what to post publicly:
• Rather than posting irrelevantly, give a thought to your act. Think of its consciences on your work life, on social life, on your mental health. If the situation gets worse, how are you going to handle it? You should post smart; it should be friendly and tolerant to the community around you. Is it good for your public bond? Do not post your resume by your work. I’d rather use your id for the same.
• It is not always important to open your thoughts on public platforms. Sometimes keeping things up to yourself is the next level of satisfaction, and if it is helping you to secure your job, then there is no issue with the same.
Posting irrelevantly on social media without giving a second thought to the feelings of co-workers and people around can impact your work environment. A negative work environment impacts your psychology. Due to this, you can feel distressed. Ultimately leads to a reduction in your productivity and puts you at a higher risk of mental tiredness. Social media shares many negative impacts. Its virtual dimensions impact your relations by dispositioning your mood; also work environment brings your stress. Not enjoying healthy relationships at the workplace can be the major cause of your psychological imbalance. Thus, for a balanced work and professional life, it is important to act smartly.
Conclusion
In the article, we condense the information about your rights at work. Here we discussed the consciousness of wrong posts, which can hamper your reputation at work, and what kinds of things you can post on your social media. Also, if caught red-handed, what precautions should we take to prevent a major loss? Social media is so good that it’s bad. Although social media has its positive impacts, it would not be wrong to say that it has more negative impacts on youth and the mentality of the people around them.
Social media has deep roots in our routine, because of which it becomes more important to choose what is wrong and what is right wisely. Although sharing offensive content does not always mean that you have raged against a particular place or thing or community, not every time a rose smells sweet. Because once you post offensive content, it is hard, if not impossible, to take back the post and neutralize the impact thereof. Even a deleted post can be preserved in a screenshot.
Frequently asked questions:
1-Can my employer force me to post on social media?
No, the newly amended Right to privacy in the workplace act makes it illegal to use the workers’ account to post company-related things forcefully or keep that person under pressure.
2-Do employees have privacy, right at the workplace?
Yes, they have the privacy of rights at the workplace, but this right applies to their personal belongings. Not to the property of the office or company.
