Social Networking and the Workplace

Posted on 26 October 2011

New ACAS report features blog research by TYMS scholar

Staff Photo, Abigail Schoneboom

A new ACAS report on workplaces and social networking, highlights the difficulties some employers are having in setting standards of behaviour for the use of social networking tools. The report advises employers to take a "commonsense stance" to regulating behaviour and to draw on "norms that might apply in non-virtual settings." It offers practical tips to employers on managing the impact of social networking on areas such as recruitment, discipline and grievances, and managing performance. 

The report, "Workplaces and Social Networking: Implications for Employment Relations," cites research on workblogging by TYMS lecturer Dr Abigail Schoneboom, which analysed how employees use blogging as a forum for 'creative resistance.'  Schoneboom's research highlights the negative impact of high profile fired blogger cases such as Petite Anglaise and Joe Gordon on employers' public image while also highlighting the ephemeral nature of this publicity and the likelihood that blogs will be superceded by emerging social networking technologies.