Question

Many companies now view the social media media pages of their workers and potential applicants. Do you think that this is ethical and a good business practice, or is it a violation of worker privacy?

Answer 1

The recent trend in the employment market is to spy on the prospective employees for any misconduct or strange behaviors that wouldn’t suit the company and the workplace. Companies call it a background check and they don’t stop from doing it for their present employees as well. Although, companies say that it’s important for them to make sure that their employees do not involve in any activity that would mar the name of the company or in any illegal and indecent activities. In my opinion, the employer shouldn’t spy on their employees on social networking media because one’s professional and personal lives should be treated separately. Although they affect each other to a certain extent, it doesn’t give the employer any excuse to prey on the employees’ personal space thus mixing the professional and personal life. If the employee engage in any illegal or indecent activities, it would come to the light one day and they could be dealt on that day. On the other hand if the employees know that the employer is watching, they would act and behave well while using a fake account to be on their own. So, spying on the employees’ private lives is unethical and violation of workers’ privacy.

Thank you for the question. Please rate if you like the answer.