Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano (Title), From hiring to harassment, Article

Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano (Title), From hiring to harassment, social media can explode on employers (subtitle) - Article Example However, the data received during this kind of search might lead to a biased opinion about the candidate, and it might be better in the long run not to have all the information available, as many of that kind of data should be irrelevant for the decision making. However, if the employer sees the need to conduct social media research during the hiring process, some guidelines should be put in place. These are important to ensure maximum benefit for business. It is recommended for the research to be carried out by the HR specialists rather than any other manager or supervisor. Also, to ensure unbiased decision about a candidate it is best to have a media check after the initial interview with the individual. If social media check is conducted during the hiring process, then the same process should be applied to all the candidates, to ensure they are in equal position. And finally, if the decision about rejecting a candidate was made based on the findings of the research, the specific r eason for denial should be documented to avoid misunderstanding. Harassment. There should be policies in place that prohibit any form of harassment in the workplace. Usually, those include many possible form of harassment, excluding issues concerning social networks. It is obvious that if the employee engages in social media activity on the behalf of the employer then all the policies should apply. Issues arise on the level of personal social networking during off-work hours. There might be some posts reported to an employer or to the co-worker who might be targeted in it, therefore working relations might suffer. It seems that in this case the employer should intervene for the sake of common good; however, employee’s off-duty activity might be protected by several legal sources, such as the Constitution, work unions, stated off-duty conduct protecting statutes. Therefore, the employer should warn the employee that if personal