A high number of employees are blogging about various aspects of their employment, and much of the blogging is not positive, according to a new report in the WorldatWork Journal (Fourth Quarter 2006 edition). Two attorneys from a major Cleveland law firm report this finding in their paper ìBloggers in the Workplace: An Employerís Rights, Risks and Responsibilities.î
Arlene Brens and Troy Prince, attorneys from the Thompson Hine law firm, found 48,500 separate blog entriesósome mentioning companies by nameóin a search of Technorati using the search string ìwork sucks.î Technorati is a search engine that monitors blogs.
ìIndividuals diary their daily lives (including whining about the various aspects of their employment as well as their employers, and protesting political issues) and commonly use blogs,î the authors wrote. ìThe use of tagging coupled with the ready availability of search engines for public blogs make it easy to find blogs about any topic.î
And they went on to warn: ìThe days when employees published information by simply posting information on breakroom bulletin boards are long gone. Blogs, wikis, tagging, social networking and peer-to-peer networking potentially can transform an employee with access to a computer into a veritable publishing powerhouse capable of broadcasting rich, multimedia information worldwide with the click of a button.î
The WorldatWork Journal article outlines some fundamental capabilities and tools that enable participatory publishing through blogging. The paper discusses some legal challenges facing employers in developing effective policies to regulate and control employeesí behavior and some practical solutions for HR professionals in dealing with blogging.
ìThis combination of personal and professional publication using tools such as blogs poses a significant challenge for HR professionals,î Brens and Prince wrote. ìIt is critical for HR professionals to develop policies and training procedures to help employees understand the difference between internal and external participatory tools such as blogs, and effectively harness the power of these tools for positive purposes while minimizing the potential for harm.î
WorldatWork Journal Reports
High Numbers of Employees Blog About Their Employer
