You may find it hard to remember the days before Facebook and Twitter, not to mention Instagram, Snapchat and a plethora of interwoven social media sites that can suck up hours of attention at a time. While they may allow many of us to feel connected with friends, family, and the world, they can also lead to cyberbullying, online arguments, and all sorts of unwanted attention; nevertheless, users around the world have become addicted to such sites and may have conversations going around the clock.

If you are an employer, undoubtedly you will either be forced to tolerate employees cruising the net at will and often in a very distracted, irritating fashion—or you will have to lay down some rules. In deciding how to handle social media, consider the following:

1. Employees may spend time on social media, but the interaction may improve their mood in some cases. Prohibiting social media such as Facebook altogether may cause them to feel overly restricted and resentful. You may find that it is a battle impossible to win also, spending too much time doling out disciplinary measures over what could be minor infractions that are unlikely to stop.
2. If workers are not abusing social media, it can be a good outlet for taking a break—especially at times when an arduous project is underway and thinking about something else for a short time is helpful.
3. Social media can be good for business. You may want to have your own business pages and have several marketing gurus in charge of maintaining them as you continue to build your brand. Morale can be improved with posting information about employee birthdays, births, awards, and more. Employees may enjoy posting and sharing humorous videos and more. This can be a positive way to encourage interaction as well as attracting new staff who are following your company online.
4. Viruses can run rampant if online security is not tight at work. With the constant use of social media, opening links, and more, you could open yourself up to major headaches with network security and technology issues.
5. Bullying and malicious posts can be harmful not only to people working together, but also to your business if resentful employees (perhaps someone recently laid off or thinking about quitting) have access to making posts that the public can view.

After monitoring social media activity at work for a while—and consulting with your IT specialists—you may decide that squashing Facebook updates isn’t worth the effort, or due to the nature of your business, it may be necessary to ask employees to wait until they are outside of work to enjoy such online communications.

If legal issues arise due to social media usage, consult with an experienced business attorney like Shane Coons as soon as possible. Our law office represents clients involved in a wide range of businesses and legal issues, and we would be glad to review your case and help you explore your options.

Call now at 949-333-0900 or email us at Shane.Coons@seclawoffices.com.