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Are employees ever really off the clock?
August 11, 2009
By Janine Yancey
Thanks to the Internet and global economy, traditional business hours have given way to 24/7 operations where the quintessential "OPEN" sign never goes dim. While this opened the doors to worldwide markets, it also blurred the boundary between personal and business time for employees. In the process, it challenged employers to mitigate the risks associated with employees' off-the-clock activities.
The trouble with smart phones
There's no doubt the world seems smaller than it was just five years ago thanks to the ubiquitous smart phone. It's now easier than ever for employees to post less-than-favorable videos to YouTube, Tweet about their crummy boss, or update their Facebook status with a seemingly innocent quip about a work project.
The instances are numerous and some, unfortunately, well publicized:
• In August 2008, an Ohio teen took an after-hours bubble bath in a Burger King Restaurant's sink while a co-worker filmed the shenanigan and a manager counted cash nearby. When the video hit MySpace, health department officials were not amused. All involved were fired, of course, but not before the video saturated the Internet—and the evening news—bringing unwanted publicity to the King.
• In January 2009, mere hours before his presentation on digital media to more than 150 employees of the FedEx communications group, a public relations executive at Ketchum New York posted disparaging comments on Twitter about the city of Memphis—FedEx's hometown. FedEx employees saw the Tweet and forwarded it to upper management. The Tweeter says his comments were sparked by an unfriendly encounter at the airport, but FedEx didn't take it that way. The end result: embarrassment to the Tweeter and his firm, which nearly cost them the account.
Aside from the negative publicity brought to their employers, these employees also established themselves as juvenile, naive, and untrustworthy—not good employee material in any industry.
Social media slip-ups
The use of social media in general is a hot spot for employees, especially knowledge workers who may moonlight as bloggers or participate in forums within their industry. Add in the element of telecommuting and the situation becomes more problematic, as employees may feel emboldened when there is little chance the boss will pop in for a visit.
A seemingly innocuous Twitter post about the day's activities (i.e. "Just finalized a big proposal for a Fortune 500 pharma company") could be picked up by a competitor and traced back to the employee and his or her employer in less than 10 seconds. Suddenly the client you've been courting for three months is revealed to your competitor, who could swoop in with a better offer.
For bloggers, the situation is even more delicate, particularly for those who blog about their industry. Commenting on a hot-button issue could be a conflict of interest, particularly if the blogger's opinion goes against the company's position or policy. Engaging in discussion about emerging trends and technologies also may inadvertently reveal trade secrets that could jeopardize the company's competitive position.
Face-to-face faux pas
Certainly, after-hours blunders are not restricted to digital media; face-to-face gaffes can be just as damaging. At a Friday evening happy hour or an off-site retreat or conference, employees must remain conscious of their perceived representation of their employer, even when the office is closed.
Had the Ketchum PR executive who posted the tasteless Tweet made those same comments to another patron at a Memphis hotel bar, the impact might have been no less damaging. While it may not have spread via the Internet, his fellow imbiber may have been a prospective client (or worked for an existing client of the large agency), but the Ketchum rep would have blown it with his off-putting remark.
For employees who wear a uniform or logoed apparel (for example, when working a tradeshow booth), their attire ups the ante even more. As one postal employee stated on the discussion board at FederalSoup.com, "The days of Cliff Clavin [of Cheers TV fame] are over. If you do something that violates the code of conduct (in or out of uniform) and get caught, you may find yourself fighting for your job."
During the height of the cola wars in 2003, a Coke delivery driver was fired for sipping a Pepsi on the clock, while a Colorado man was fired in May 2005 from his job at a Budweiser distributor for a conflict of interest. The offending activity: he was spotted drinking Coors at a bar on Saturday night. His boss reportedly informed him that drinking the competitor's product was "putting food on the competitor's table, while we are putting food on yours."
An ounce of prevention
If your company hasn't yet been involved in some sort of unsavory employee behavior scandal, it is likely only a matter of time. It's wise to take some preemptive steps to prevent an off-the-clock blunder from turning into a PR nightmare.
1. Establish a social media policy and code of conduct that covers employees both on and off the clock, at work, and at home. The social media policies of many large companies (including Dell, the Wall Street Journal, and GM) are available online to serve as a model. Many include broad clauses that allow the employer to take disciplinary action if an employee does anything to embarrass the company, or even to monitor employees' home computers.
2. Provide ongoing training for employees on these policies, the expected behavior, and the implications of non-compliance. Unfortunately, even some knowledge workers are unaware of the consequences of after-hours activities, particularly when it comes to social media. They need to know that nothing on the Web is anonymous. Today's online, on-demand learning management systems make designing a customized policy course, and delivering it remotely in an e-learning environment, simple, easy, and affordable.
3. Foster an environment of teamwork and personal investment in the company. Employees who view themselves as valuable contributors are more likely to feel a greater sense of pride and ownership in the company and its reputation.
Janine Yancey is CEO and founder of emTRAiN, a provider of multi-media online human resources compliance training. An HR and compliance training expert and former labor and employment lawyer, Yancey first used workforce training as an affirmative defense when she successfully defended a large city against sexual harassment charges in a jury trial.
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