BE CAREFUL on social networks

[Chico David]

There was another recent posting - thread now closed - by a nurse who got in trouble over a Facebook posting. I have some direct experience with this - as a union steward - and a fair amount of second hand knowledge. Here are a few basic things to keep in mind:

1. Your Facebook "friends" may very well not be your actual friends - in every case that I've dealt with, management became aware of the offending posting when a "friend" of the poster brought it to their attention. And your privacy settings are no protection.

2. You do not have rights of "free speech" related to your work - the First Amendment protects you against the government intruding on your free speech rights - it says nothing about your employer.

3. If you are not covered by a union contract, in most parts of the US you are an at will employee and can be fired for any reason or no reason - except for a very small number of protected reasons like your age or race.

4. If you post something that would make anyone reading it think they might not get good care at your hospital, that would almost always be a legitimate reason for action against you. Here are a few real life examples: "We were so understaffed it was scary" or "If another person comes into the ER just to get narcs, I might punch them out" or "I got so frustrated with one patient I wanted to take her call light away".

Yeah, we've all had feelings like that, and we might say them to a real friend face to face - but posting them online for all to see - and, no matter what your privacy settings are, it really is for all to see - is just foolish. Save those rants for your truly private conversations.

One last note: Labor law does protect concerted activity. So if your union has a Facebook page and you were having a discussion there about how to improve staffing at your hospital, a negative comment on staffing in that context would likely be protected by law - but the exact same comment in the context of just a general rant likely would not be.

So, be careful, be smart, don't cause yourself unneeded trouble for silly reasons.

[julz68]

I had a coworker once who would post pics of herself dancing on table tops at bars....then wondered why so many people were talking about her at work, in a negative way.

Other coworkers have posted pics of themselves drinking at bars also, in uniform! I just don't get why some people feel the need to do that! Boggles my mind....

[DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP]

I believe that some potential employers will search for a person on FB, and then look at their page. Just a cover photo can say a thousand words....

[NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

Ahhh yes....Facebook! I remember when I had a Facebook account. It was exactly 3 years ago and lasted for only 3 days!!! Social media is NOT the place for me....unless you count ALLNURSES. I have cell numbers of all the people I just HAVE to talk to and they have mine. Of course, they reach my voicemail more than they reach me. I absolutely TREASURE my privacy!

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

can someone tag your picture even if you don't have a facebook account? meaning you can still be identified, right? you don't have to post your own "scandolous" photos.

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

I believe that some potential employers will search for a person on FB, and then look at their page. Just a cover photo can say a thousand words....

Yes. I recently read an article about how not having a facebook ,linked in , etc. can negatively affect you. Employers were very wary of people (esp those in younger age groups) who didn't have acccounts.Using reasons such as that that person must have something to hide or is a "loner" etc....

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

Which is why my FB is locked down as tight as a drum and I'm not friends with anybody from work and there is absolutely no chance they are friends with any of my other friends. Not that I have said anything totally stupid but I have made a general vent once or twice.

This, I can tell you, is a false sense of security.

If you think that your comments are safe, you are 100% incorrect.

[murberry]

My facebook is on total lockdown, I have it set so that even my friends can only see profile pictures or anything I specifically post to my wall -- people can post on my wall, but only the poster and myself can view it, no one else. I rarely post statuses.

However, I do have it listed that my major is Nursing and which school I attend. Is this not a good idea?? Only "friends" (friends, acquaintances) can see it.

I think it's a personal preference about what you want to put down as your education. I, personally do not post where I attend school or major just because I don't think anyone should know. I'm more of a low-key person so that's why. I didn't know Facebook has a setting where you and the poster can view only. Good to know, thanks for sharing. :) btw- it's good that you rarely update your status just in case in the future it might fireback on you if you post anything negative- not saying you will or anything.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Yes. I recently read an article about how not having a facebook ,linked in , etc. can negatively affect you. Employers were very wary of people (esp those in younger age groups) who didn't have acccounts.Using reasons such as that that person must have something to hide or is a "loner" etc....

Well, isn't that unfortunate. I suppose my employer will have to trust my references and my job history to vouch for my abilites instead of a made-up persona created in a social networking site. The inhumanity!

[julz68]

Well, isn't that unfortunate. I suppose my employer will have to trust my references and my job history to vouch for my abilites instead of a made-up persona created in a social networking site. The inhumanity!

Haha!

[lovingtheunloved, ASN, RN]

My sister is a social worker, and I'm dumbfounded by some of the things she has posted on fb about her job. Things like "my boss is an idiot," and "my client is a PIA." How she has managed to avoid getting fired astounds me. I've warned her, pleaded with her, nagged her, but she still does it. It's going to bite her in the butt one of these days. I do post about work occasionally, but they are only positive, and very generic comments, like "I had a great day at work, I had really nice patients," or "My coworkers are awesome."

At my old job, I was friends with everyone on facebook. That job was a nightmare, and being connected on fb just made it worse. I have a much better job now, and I adore my coworkers, but I'm not friends with any of them on facebook.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

This, I can tell you, is a false sense of security.

If you think that your comments are safe, you are 100% incorrect.

Source? No offense, but I often find people who are overly paranoid truly don't understand the privacy controls offered.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I've said this before but I don't see how people can keep things so separated. I can't. Most of my friends are co-workers or former co-workers. I don't have much of a social life outside of socializing with people I work with. Even my friends from school are all nurses now so I either work with them, or know people they work with, etc.

So yes most of my friends on facebook are nurses, doctors, and auxiliary staff. I'm actually "friends" with my hospital's facebook page and comment and share things from it all the time.

I agree with the idea that you have to be smart about what you put online, but I think some people are just paranoid about it.

Granted, I don't feel the urge to bad-mouth my employer daily. Maybe if I felt oppressed or had a bad work environment it would be different.

I don't see what's so hard about it. Work is work. Friends are friends. Family is family. I keep everything separate. My one friend who is a nurse is not a work-friend but a friend from college. I spend 40 hrs/week with my co-workers, I don't need to spend my free time with them too. My friends who I am the closest too are the friends I've had my whole life. I have known my best friends since I was 5 and 11.