Should_Your_Facebook_Be_Able_to_Mess_Up_Your_Worklife_

Should Your Facebook Be Able to Mess Up Your Worklife' A previous post, Syncing Your Facebook with the Real You, discussed whether or not we should have a different lifestyle during work hours from what we preach on social media. Should employers be allowed to supervise our social media accounts or make decisions based on our online profiles' From the employer’s perspective, searching on the web for information about potential employees can be helpful in determining if a person is a good fit for the organization since it allows recruiters to get to know more about the personality of jobseekers. However, using social media to decide whether a person is a good fit or not may have mixed blessings. In Simplify Social Media for Recruiting, Eileen Taylor and Kathy Mulder-Williamson explain how governments are restricting the consideration of off-work lifestyles to make decisions related to employment. They also suggest that using social media for hiring can lead to discrimination since there are people who are not active members of these sites. Possible issues with social media continue after a person is hired. In Social Media and the Law, Daxton Stewart indicates that during the last years the number of employers who require employees to turn over their passwords have increased. Although several states have created legislations to protect employees from having to provide their password to employers, it continues to happen. From my perspective, requiring employees to provide their password disrespects the right of privacy. Nonetheless, social media can be helpful to evaluate if a candidate will fit in an organization, but it shouldn’t be the only tool used since it can promote discrimination. When is the boundary between private and public life crossed' Is it fair to not be hired for not being “social” enough'