As reported in the Times of India on 25/8/12 under the headline, ‘Watch your post on FB, Hirers all eyes’, there is supposedly a new trend emerging in the corporate world, in particular the H.R world. Corporate’s are running reference checks on social media as part of the filtering and hiring process. Some companies do it at random; others do it for all candidates. Irresponsible Facebooking, Tweeting or any compromise of social media hygiene could lead to summary rejection.
To me, this new trend is extremely disturbing and is just another example of the corporate world ignoring basic ethical and legal principles, one of which is Right to Privacy.
When I apply for a job or accept a job, did I sign a contract allowing my potential or present employer to snoop in my living room? What is social media after all if not a virtual, online, cyber living room? Friends ‘chat,’ ‘share’, ‘tag’, ‘poke’, listen to music, watch videos, share jokes etc. etc. The only thing missing are mausiji’s piping hot samosa’s and chai!!
Defenders of this outrageous practice will claim that words put out in cyber space cease to be ‘private’ and have in fact entered the public space. Let me rebut that by pointing out, most social media sites, particularly Facebook, privacy settings enable you to communicate and interact only with your ‘friends’. Communicating with ones friends or inner circle implies a certain amount of trust, casualness and being carefree. Within this social space you are allowed to lower your guard and be yourself. We all know that what behavior might be acceptable among friends might not be acceptable while in the company of elders. Views differ when we are among colleagues and when we are among management. I may confess to my wife that my boss is a pain in the neck (the watered down version) but would never admit the same to the boss himself. If every boss actually knew what was in the minds of his subordinates, I dare say, most would be out looking for a new job! Human beings are no saints and do a fine job of hiding our true feelings, faults, even our eccentricities, depending on our company.
As reported in the same article, a young technology professional had to return his offer letter because he had posted on Facebook, a picture of himself with his roommate with a ‘gay language’ caption. Wow, this keeps getting better! A civil rights lawyer would love to sink his teeth into this one! I am presuming based on this ‘gay language’ caption, this H.R genius has automatically presumed this candidate to be gay! How in the world is this not discriminatory?? How is my bedroom behavior, sexual preferences or tendencies related to my capacity to do my job diligently, honestly and to my best ability? Do these H.R professionals realize that homosexuality has been decriminalised by the Delhi High Court?
Further, there are instances of HR heads asking for clarifications or explanations from their new recruits on the latter’s “unhealthy” or “questionable” social media posts. How is this different from living in communist China, Cuba, North Korea and the erstwhile U.S.S.R? When I think of these H.R managers, the word ‘Gestapo’ leaps to my mind!
The last time I checked, reading someone else’s mail was considered an unpardonable social sin. How is, this new H.R trend not an invasion of one’s privacy? Isn’t it tantamount to listening to ones telephonic conversation? I thought the concept of ‘Big Brother’ was generally referred to the government eves dropping and was long buried with the end of the cold war. (Of course the likes of Jason Bourne and the ‘evil’ CIA and its numerous, notorious secret cells are exceptions!!) Now, it seems the corporate’s like to play ‘fly on the wall’. They would do well to listen to Pink Floyd’s ‘Brick in the Wall’ which emphatically declares “we don’t need no thought control”!!
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