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American Employment Laws

During my research, I came upon several articles that mention the use of social media as one of the “hot topics” HR professionals should think about and create formal policies and procedures for. Jumpstart: HR (n.d.) notes that while “20% of employers have disciplined employees for social media misuse only 40% of companies have a formal social media policy. Even fewer companies provide social media training for employees.” The one thing that, in my opinion, would be difficult to manage is the use of social media outside of work and the degree to which we can dictate what can or cannot be said when done outside of professional environment.
The training itself would also need to be engaging and very clear – perhaps one way to go about it would be to first dive into the various social media platforms available today, the proper language that should be used in connection with the company (provide trainees with examples of “bad social media behavior” which would increase understanding of the potential issues) and perhaps also have a social media specialist available who would take on the responsibility of reviewing content ( if needed). Of course, this should not be the person’s full-time job so finding that balance would be important. Again, covering personal accounts would be important also.
The minimum information that should be provided pertains to making sure that employees make sure their accounts are designated as private and that any opinions posted therein are their own and nobody else’s. With that said, some behavior even if done in private could have damaging effects for the employee and reflect badly on the company. That issue goes back to our hiring practices and vetting a person for culture fit. In conclusion, I find this issue to be on-ongoing and suspect it will move even more to the forefront than before.
Another thing I would like to mention is discrimination (potentially harassment) based on race. Companies are nowadays very global but not all employees understand other cultures as well as they should. Certain comments could potentially be viewed as rude or offensive in some cultures while other cultures may find them just fine. I have found this issue arising even in a workplace where internationalization was absolutely at the forefront, but some students would have conflicts with one another because of lack of understanding between cultures. With that in mind, I recall having used a training, at an undergraduate as well as graduate level, called “Bafa, Bafa” to raise intercultural awareness. I think it would be an amazing tool for companies. During this training students are divided into several groups (each group representing a culture) and given instructions on what kind of language to use in communicating with one another (the language is completely made up and so are the cultural norms although they mirror specific cultures to a degree). Once learned, one student from the “opposing” faction would be sent over to try and communicate with the “other” group. Because this training uses “two new cultures, new languages and new ways of communicating” nobody would be offended by anyone, but it would give each student a view of how it feels when you are placed in a completely foreign environment. This training puts the “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” saying into practice  http://intercultural-learning.eu/Portfolio-Item/bafa-bafa/

References:
Discrimination by Type. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved from: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/.
JumpStart: HR (n.d.). Social Media Training is Essential For Employees. Retrieved from:
Mayhew, R. (n.d.). How to Deal With HR Issues of Discrimination. Retrieved from:
Starkman, J. (2017). 9 employment law issues you need to watch. Retrieved from:
The 10 Employment Laws Every Manager Should Know.  Retrieved from: https://www.thehrspecialist.com/3473/the-10-employment-laws-every-manager-should-know

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