Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Last month, a group of five prison guards in New South Wales, Australia, were accused of misconduct for posting inflammatory messages about their boss on a closed Facebook group. Now, in an attempt to save their jobs, their union is taking them to court, and they’re going to fight it all the way to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission.
The case raises some important questions about the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter when in comes to the workplace. Is badmouthing your boss on Facebook no different than “getting together in a pub ... and bagging the boss,” as a representative for the guards claimed last week in an AP article by Rod McGuirk? Or is an employer within his or her bounds to fire somebody for posting negative comments in a public arena such as the Internet?
It’s yet another instance of how technology can complicate just as much as it can facilitate. Things used to be much simpler before the advent of the Web. The guards say they were just “letting off steam.”
Well, back in my day, we let off steam the old-fashioned way: by vandalizing the boss’ car. (Editor’s note: The Kansan does not endorse vandalism, nor does it endorse the use of the phrase “back in my day.”)
It’s not surprising that these prison guards felt the need to kick back. After all, they’re a part of Australia’s oldest and grandest tradition: the incarceration of criminals. It’s got to be a tough job.
Unless they work at a Koala Jail. Then it would be an awesome job. A Koala Jail would definitely be the most adorable jail in the world. (Sorry, Leavenworth!)
But regardless of how cute the inmates are or how much eucalyptus is in their diets, it’s still a workplace with standards of conduct for its employees. Whether or not it’s within the prison’s rights to fire the guards over something said outside of that workplace, the guards could have avoided being in that position by not posting the comments in the first place. If you wouldn’t say it to your boss, don’t say it in a publicly accessible and searchable forum with your name attached. That’s the beauty of vandalism: It’s totally anonymous!
It’s not just boss-bashing that can get folks in trouble online. Sometimes just leaking what the boss says off the record has consequences as well.
Last week, after President Obama called Kanye West a “jackass” for his jackassery at the VMAs, ABC reporter Terry Moran immediately posted the off-hand comment on his Twitter. The White House was not pleased — even though it might be the single most popular thing Obama has said all year — and Moran deleted the tweet. ABC News quickly issued an apology.
There’s something about these social-networking sites that turns off the part in our brain that makes us shut up. Sharing can quickly turn into over-sharing, and next thing you know the leader of the free world is upset with you.
Nobody’s safe: I can’t even slash my editor’s tires without somebody taking a snapshot and posting it online for the world to see. (Editor’s note: I knew it!)
Just because the Internet enables us to do something doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to do it. Some things are just better left in the pub.
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