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Prehan Iqbal
Professor Patchigondla
Stretch English 1AF
15 November 2016
Social Media vs. Workplace
Should employers be able to bypass employees privacy settings on social media? Can it
considered an invasion of privacy? Some people think that social media can reflect ones
personality and behavior.

I do not agree. I feel that social media and work should be separated unless it's a professional
social media site like LinkedIn. I believe that there are other sources to look at instead of the way
employers relying on social media for work status. Employees need privacy and social media
may provide a medium in which they can vent to their friends and families. Bottling up emotions

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may lead to depression, anxiety, feelings of stress, and other adverse side effects for the
employees. Some people may or may not agree with this perspective. For example, a teacher,
Ms. Rubino, lost her job due to posting the status,

After today, I am thinking

the beach sounds like a wonderful idea for my 5th graders! I


HATE THEIR GUTS! They are the devils spawn," (Law, para.
5). Rubino had a bad day. Out of frustration of the kind of day she had, she resorted to venting
on social media. She clearly did not intent for her venting to be public. Her social media vent
was brought to the attention of her superior when a colleague shared her post. The employers
bypassed Rubinos privacy settings, saw her post, and consequently she was fired for that post.

I dont think this post reflects


the real Ms. Rubino as a person. I feel that Rubinos job termination was unfair. A social media
post that is meant to be shared privately with family and friends shouldnt affect ones
employment status. This paper will address why employers shouldnt be able to bypass

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employees privacy settings; social media activities shouldn't affect employment status; and
social media is a medium for employees to avoid emotional suppression.
INVASION OF PRIVACY
I dont think its fair for employees to have their privacy invaded. Employers shouldnt
have the rights to bypass employees privacy settings. If their social media use is dictated, how
would employees be able to find sufficient space and privacy to vent out their emotions?
Employees may feel anxiety, additional stress, and fear. I think social media shouldnt affect
employees job statuses. I believe that we humans need at least some privacy instead of none.
We are neither robots nor are the employees. Employees have feelings as well. Some can be
more triggered than others. However, all employees may be triggered at least in some way or
degrees. Some employees dont show it. Even if they dont show their emotions, they may still
feel them on the inside. Repressing emotions would keep the emotional cycle going but not in a
good way. Repressing feelings may cause health risks such as depression, anxiety, stress, and
headaches. Social media can be an outlet for employees to express themselves and their feelings.
SOCIAL MEDIA VS. EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Social media shouldnt affect job status. Social media posts dont always define an
employees real social behavior in person. Social media can be used as an outlet for employees
to vent their feelings. I feel that employees shouldnt be restricted to keep their emotions to
themselves all the time. Emotional explosions or implosions may be a consequence of continued
emotional repression. I feel bad for the employees that have to repress their feelings to avoid
getting fired. Social media is more of an outlet for employees to express their feelings.
Employees as people can be different. Some can have bad reputations but are loyal employees
and vice versa. Employers cant just assume employees behaviors by looking at their social

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media posts. I believe that social media isnt the most efficient way to deem an employee as
good or bad. No one should be fired for anything they post thats legal, off-duty and not jobrelated, (Greenhouse, para. 29). Greenhouse makes a claim about his views on social media vs.
job status. He is against the idea of social media affecting work statuses of employees. Social
media may have posts that have nothing to do with the job.
SOCIAL MEDIA AS OUTLETS
If social media affects job status, does it mean that employees have to keep everything to
themselves including their feelings? When employees repress their feelings, they may end up
experiencing emotional outbursts, resentment, anxiety, migraines, and suppressed immune
systems, along with other negative side effects. Goldman, author of the article entitled, Health;
New Studies Report Health Dangers of Repressing Emotional Turmoil states that The
repressers tended to have lower levels of certain disease-fighting cells of the immune system,
and higher levels of cells that multiply at the time of allergic reactions, (Goleman, para. 13).
The author uses statistics on human health. He also compares the health risks of highly anxious
people and repressors to bring awareness to the social media and the workplace issue. Social
media can be helpful for employees to get their feelings out instead of letting them build up
inside their bodies. Employees can fend off better with job stress if they are allowed to release
their feelings as opposed to bottling them up. ''Despite their calm exterior, under a mental
challenge the repressers had a higher blood pressure rise than even highly anxious people,''
(Goleman, para. 12). Goleman says that repressing emotions can be toxic. Not all calm-looking
people may be calm on the inside. Even when employees act calm, they are giving a calm
expression despite the internal stress occurring on the inside. Employers may misunderstand the
employees as their expressions may mean one thing and the interior means another thing.

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CONCLUSION
In conclusion, social media is used as a social tool to connect with friends and families. It
is a medium to allow one to freely share thoughts, ideas, pictures, and etc. with their friends and
families. As such, many do express job frustration through social media. Since these expressions
are meant to be private, employers should not penalize employees for their social media
activities. It is unfair and unjust to lose a job due to social media posts. As stated, social media is
a medium that employees can use to vent their feelings. If employees bottle their feelings up,
their health can be jeopardized. Therefore, freely expressing themselves and sharing their private
thoughts with their friends and families should not in any way negatively impact employment
status or advancement opportunities as long as social media activities dont impact job
performance.

Works Cited
Goleman, Daniel. Health; New Studies Report Health Dangers of Repressing Emotional
Turmoil. New York Times, 3 March 1988,
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/03/us/health-new-studies-report-health-dangers-ofrepressing-emotional-turmoil.html.
Greenhouse, Steven. Even if It Enrages Your Boss, Social Net Speech is Protected.
New York Times, 21 Jan. 2013,
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/technology/employers-social-media-policies-comeunder-regulatory-scrutiny.html.
Murphy Law Group, LLC. Can I Legally Be Fired For a Facebook Post? Know Your Rights. 6

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March 2015, http://www.phillyemploymentlawyer.com/can-i-legally-be-fired-for-afacebook-post-know-your-rights/.

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