Managing the impact of social media in the workplace

Social media has become an indispensible means of keeping in touch with our family and friends, conducting professional networking and showcasing our talent. But incautious use of social media can also land us in hot water if we’re not careful – particularly with our employer.

The growing use of social media has wide-ranging implications for the workplace. While it’s true that there are huge benefits to our highly connected society, its darker sides are also starting to be felt in areas such as data protection, freedom of speech, online defamation, time theft, cyber-bullying and the invasion of privacy- all of which pose significant risks for businesses and organisations.

Did you know that:

Worldwide, there are over 1.7 billion active Facebook users?
55% of workers confess to using social media sites for personal reasons while at work ?
misuse of social media by workers is believed to cost Britain’s economy £14 billion every year in ‘lost time’?
This learning resource from Skill Boosters examines the challenges and risks that social media and social networking tools pose for employers, looks at the law on virtual communication and provides guidance for employers on how to manage social media use in the workplace.

Learning outcomes

This course will give a better understanding of:

common social media platforms and social networking tools
how and why people use social media
the key risks posed to employers and businesses by social media use and misuse
the law and ethics relating to social media
different ways of managing social media use in the workplace
how to draw up and implement a workplace social media policy.
The increasing use of social media has wide-ranging implications for today’s workplace. While there are huge benefits to our highly connected society, the use of social media can pose challenges for businesses and organisations in areas such as:

reputation management

online defamation

time theft

privacy and confidentiality

recruitment

data protection

whistleblowing

professional networking

cyber-bullying