Two years ago or thereabouts, this guy was denied a visa to travel to one of the European countries. It so happened that, in one of his social media accounts, he had said something that was unsettling for that country and although I know not how they got hold of that information, they refused him access to the country and he had gone online to rant.
I was surprised. I do recall that when I read what he had earlier written that got him to that point, I had sighed. He was in the wrong. That thought of his that he shared on his page was barbaric and inhumane, and for a second, I thought he deserved what came his way. On the flip side, that was too much punishment.
Imagine that the embassy could lay hands on such information. Or maybe someone reported the post? I don't know.
I know people who never want to be friends on social media with their colleagues. I guess it's for things like this. It's to be able to live life independent of work, brouhaha.
I can't say that asking for an employees handle is appropriate because I consider this topic a controversial one but i think that employers should not be allowed to mess with their employees' personal lives, nor should an employer be allowed to snoop into an employee's social media accounts and threaten to take adverse action based on what is or was found to be in their social media accounts.
I think that this violates any rights to privacy or right to a private life and creates a psychologically toxic workplace while the employer was at it -- and whilst sometimes an employee may privately hold opinions that an employer doesn't like.
I think it's a practice that effectively chills free expression by employees who fear posting opinions or views that might adversely impact their job or career prospects. But, it depends.
If the employee will be seen as a representative of the company, I assume that the company would care what image they present on social media inclusive.
If the job role involves posting on social media, then it's only fair to see what the employee posts for themselves.
Otherwise, I think that it's inappropriate. I'm just quite concerned about the balance. We often talk about work-life balance and about leaving work back at work and not taking it home and also letting home stay home(hope that makes sense). Now, if we're out to live our lives fully in both respects, would having to submit handles to the workplace and come under their scrutiny not interfere with that?
I have no answer to this question in whole since everyone has to answer for themselves if they're comfortable with the practice or not. But if I were asked to submit my handles, first, I'd question why that is so(I have to know), and then, I'd hand it over. The reason it's easy for me to say that I will do so is cause I have almost no social media presence. So I wouldn't care. But maybe if I had some good structure online, I may not agree to it(wo, i dont think so. It's not like I'm doing aomething bad). For my dream job, it shouldn't be so difficult to give them my handle and let them feel comfortable for a few days before i rsstrict them from seeing my posts or maybe make my page private(who knows?) Again, it depends.
Thanks for gracing this post.
Greetings!