scholarly journals Employer Control of Employee Behaviour Through Social Media

2020 ◽  
pp. 141-161
Author(s):  
Sarah Hook ◽  
Sandy Noakes

When once individuals could ‘clock off’ for the day and retreat into private spaces, these private activities are increasingly prone to being recorded, tagged and shared and brought to the attention of an individual’s employer. The unavoidable necessity for people to engage with each other online has blurred the boundaries between work life and private life and has meant that, increasingly, employers seek to control what employees do and say online, which requires individuals to carefully modify their behaviour in once private domains. As individuals become inured to the realities of being tracked and mined, the resigned cynicism of the situation is creating a culture where freedom to ‘be yourself’ is undermined. This paper will explore examples of individuals who have faced consequences at work for their online behaviour in what once would have been thought of as their private domain. Using surveillance theory, it will seek to ask whether such a gap in the legal and regulatory sphere is at risk of submerging the individual into a docile workforce which is never ‘off the clock’.

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (57) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Márcio Túlio VIANA ◽  
Maria Cecília Máximo TEODORO ◽  
Karin Bhering ANDRADE

ABSTRACT Objectives: The human being is living in times when extreme individuality and self feelings are overvalued and praised. Each day self promotion is increasingly sought by the individual. Through Instagram, for example, pictures are posted in order to achieve a greater number of likes. Through the social media, love, desire, happiness and individual feelings are publicly shown. In the new capitalistic wealth accumulation logic, corporations like Facebook, Google, among others, are constantly capturing such individual moments to be traded off for profits, and no one is noticing, or if someone is noticing, is not aware that is all constantly watched. This article intends to review how these new controlling technologies can be prejudicial to workers. Methodology: The methodology used is dialogical deductive, through bibliographic research for construction and development of research, having as main thinkers Michel Focault, Zygmunt Bauman and Jeremy Bentham. Results: One of the conclusions of the author is that in a surveillance environment by the employer, there will only be a power relation, when the employee is able to act as an active person – both in accepting and subverting his role – before such surveillance. In the contrary, it will not be a power relation but rather a mere coercion relation. And if there is not a power exercise, there is not an exercise of liberty either. Contributions: The article seeks the reader's attention on the extraction of surplus value, which today seems not only to be the surplus of the workforce, but also the happiness and subjectivity of the worker. As a contribution, the author highlights the new invasive surveillance of the employer as well as the shadow side of the marketing and unnecessary consumption to enrich companies to the detriment of individuals. The employer, seeking greater productivity and profit and due to the advancement of new technologies, controls his worker, either inside or outside the workplace. The worker, therefore, without the right to disconnect, is constantly monitored during the workday and also in his moments of rest.KEYWORDS: Controlling of the work force; discipline; social media; private lives; The Bentham system; Labor law. RESUMO Objetivos: Vivem-se tempos de valorização da subjetividade do eu. Cada dia mais busca-se uma autoafirmação. Por meio do Instagram, por exemplo, fotos são postadas com a pretensão de ganhar os famosos likes. Através das redes sociais, demonstram-se afetos, desejos, prazeres, felicidades, subjetividades. Paralelamente, na nova lógica de acumulação capitalista, empresas como Instagram, Facebook, Google, entre outras, estão constantemente capturando essas subjetividades em troca de lucro e não se percebe, ou se percebe e não se toma consciência, que todos são constantemente vigiados. Este artigo pretende analisar como esse controle acentuado por essa nova lógica de acumulação pode prejudicar o trabalhador. Metodologia: A metodologia utilizada é dedutiva dialógica, por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica para construção e desenvolvimento da pesquisa, tomando-se como principais pensadores Michel Focault, Zygmunt Bauman e Jeremy Bentham. Resultados: Uma das conclusões do autor é que, em um ambiente de vigilância por parte do empregador, haverá apenas uma relação de poder, quando o empregado puder atuar como uma pessoa ativa - tanto na aceitação quanto na subversão de seu papel - antes dessa vigilância. Pelo contrário, não será uma relação de poder, mas uma mera relação de coerção. E se não há um exercício de poder, também não há um exercício de liberdade. Contribuições: O artigo busca a atenção do leitor sobre a extração da mais valia, que, hoje, não parecer ser apenas o excedente da força de trabalho, mas também a felicidade e a subjetividade do trabalhador. Como contribuição, o autor destaca a nova vigilância invasiva do empregador, bem como o lado sombrio do marketing e do consumo desnecessário para enriquecer as empresas em detrimento das pessoas. O empregador, buscando maior produtividade e lucro e devido ao avanço das novas tecnologias, controla seu trabalhador, seja dentro do trabalho ou fora dele. O trabalhador, portanto, sem direito à desconexão, encontra-se constantemente monitorado durante a jornada de trabalho e também em seus momentos de descanso. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Vigilância; controle; disciplina; redes sociais; vida privada; Panóptico de Bentham; Direito do Trabalho.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helle Kryger Aggerholm ◽  
Sophie Esmann Andersen

Purpose Drawing on a unique case of a Web 3.0 recruitment campaign, the purpose of this paper is to explore how a Web 3.0 social media recruitment communication strategy influence, add value to and challenge conventional recruitment communication management. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on a reflexive dialogical research approach, which means that it is methodologically designed as a critical dialogue between on the one hand an empirical case and on the other hand theories on social media and strategic communication. Findings The study points toward a fundamental new approach to recruitment communication. The application of a Web 3.0 strategy entails what we term an open source recruitment strategy and a redirection of employee focus from work life to private life. These insights point toward ontologically challenging the basic assumptions of employees, work life and the employing organization. Research limitations/implications The paper presents a single-case study, which prepares the ground for larger, longitudinal studies. Such studies may apply a more long-term focus on the implications of applying Web 3.0 recruitment strategies and how they may be integrated into – or how they challenge – overall corporate communication strategies. Practical implications A turn toward Web 3.0 in recruitment communication affects the degree of interactional complexity and the level of managerial control. Furthermore, the authors argue that the utilization of a Web 3.0 strategy in recruitment communication put forth precarious dilemmas and challenges of controllability, controversy, ownership and power relations, demanding organizations to cautiously entering the social media 3.0 employment market. Originality/value This study indicates how the value and potentials of social media as facilitating participatory processes and community conversations can be strategically used in and fundamentally alter recruitment communication, and hence offers new insights into a paradigmatically new way of understanding what strategic social media recruitment is, can and do.


2021 ◽  
Vol 138-139 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 135-149
Author(s):  
Ilona Świątek-Barylska ◽  
Katarzyna Januszkiewicz

The COVID–19 experience has clearly shown that flexibility in the context of work is not uniform. Modifying one work parameter affects another. Companies considering staying remote should analyze the broader context of this change. In the article, the focus is on the cross–contamination of spheres of life in a situation of forced flexibility, in which employees had had to reorganize their ways of working almost overnight. By adopting a phenomenological approach, on the basis of qualitative research conducted using the Individual In–depth Interview (IDI) method during the lockdown period (March–April 2020), an attempt was made to develop a semantic and operational description of the coexistence of professional and private life subject to these specific conditions, assuming that they act as an accelerator for phenomena and processes related to the flexibility of organizational behavior. Based on the criterion of separateness of spheres of life and an individual’s activity in their management, four types of Work–Life Interfaces were distinguished as a consequence of the analysis of empirical material.


Moreana ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (Number 209) (1) ◽  
pp. 79-93
Author(s):  
Marie-Claire Phélippeau

This paper shows how solidarity is one of the founding principles in Thomas More's Utopia (1516). In the fictional republic of Utopia described in Book II, solidarity has a political and a moral function. The principle is at the center of the communal organization of Utopian society, exemplified in a number of practices such as the sharing of farm work, the management of surplus crops, or the democratic elections of the governor and the priests. Not only does solidarity benefit the individual Utopian, but it is a prerequisite to ensure the prosperity of the island of Utopia and its moral preeminence over its neighboring countries. However, a limit to this principle is drawn when the republic of Utopia faces specific social difficulties, and also deals with the rest of the world. In order for the principle of solidarity to function perfectly, it is necessary to apply it exclusively within the island or the republic would be at risk. War is not out of the question then, and compassion does not apply to all human beings. This conception of solidarity, summed up as “Utopia first!,” could be dubbed a Machiavellian strategy, devised to ensure the durability of the republic. We will show how some of the recommendations of Realpolitik made by Machiavelli in The Prince (1532) correspond to the Utopian policy enforced to protect their commonwealth.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-113
Author(s):  
Smilena Smilkova ◽  

The proposed material examines the creative task of students majoring in Social Pedagogy at the University „Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov“ in Burgas, and studying the discipline Art Pedagogy – Part 1 – Music. In the course of the lecture course students get acquainted with the elements of musical expression, as a means of figurative representations and impact of music, with different techniques concerning individual musical activities, with the endless and diverse opportunities that music provides in the use of art pedagogy for social work teachers.Verbal interpretation of music is a necessary component when working with children with special educational needs, at risk and in the norm. Looking at Tchaikovsky’s short and extremely figurative piano piece „The Sick Doll“ from his charming „Children’s Album“, in the form of a short story, tale or essay, students express their personal vision, feeling and transformation of the musical image. The aim of the task is to transcribe the sound image into a verbal one. This requires speed, flexibility and logic in thinking, through imagination and creativity in its manifestation. Children love to listen, especially when they are involved. In search of the right way to solve problems and situations, future social educators could successfully benefit from the conversion of sound into words, according to the needs and deficits of the individual or group.


Author(s):  
Piotr Szamrowski ◽  
Adam Pawlewicz

The main objective of this paper is to identify the platforms and social media tools utilized by the brewing industry in communication with the stakeholders, mainly with potential clients. In addition, the study sought to determine the nature of the published content, identify those responsible for their management, and present the advantages and disadvantages of their conduct in communication and creating the image of the company. The results indicate that only 25% of the surveyed companies do not use social media in PR. This applies only to small enterprises, with regional character. All the major brewing companies in their public relations activities use at least one type of social media, focusing in most cases on social networking (Facebook) and Video Sharing (YouTube). In addition, some of the largest brands included in the individual equity groups have their own social media channels used to communicate with the stakeholders. General promotion of company products and, what is very important, creating a dialogue with social media platform community, were seen as the most important benefits of using social media.


2021 ◽  
pp. 016344372110158
Author(s):  
Opeyemi Akanbi

Moving beyond the current focus on the individual as the unit of analysis in the privacy paradox, this article examines the misalignment between privacy attitudes and online behaviors at the level of society as a collective. I draw on Facebook’s market performance to show how despite concerns about privacy, market structures drive user, advertiser and investor behaviors to continue to reward corporate owners of social media platforms. In this market-oriented analysis, I introduce the metaphor of elasticity to capture the responsiveness of demand for social media to the data (price) charged by social media companies. Overall, this article positions social media as inelastic, relative to privacy costs; highlights the role of the social collective in the privacy crises; and ultimately underscores the need for structural interventions in addressing privacy risks.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Bonet-Esteve ◽  
Raquel Muñoz-Miralles ◽  
Carla Gonzalez-Claramunt ◽  
Ana M Rufas ◽  
Xavier Pelegrin Cruz ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Influenza is a major public health issue, with the primary preventive measure being an annual influenza vaccination. Nevertheless, vaccination coverage among the at-risk population is low. Our understanding of the behaviour of the influenza virus during the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic is limited, meaning influenza vaccination is still recommended for individuals at risk for severe complications due to influenza infection. The aim of the study is to determine the intention to vaccinate against seasonal influenza among the at-risk population in the 2020-21 campaign during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and to analyse the factors which influence such intention. Methods Cross-sectional telephone survey of adults (aged over 18) with risk factors in central Catalonia where the need for the Seasonal Influenza Vaccine (SIV) was recommended. Results A total of 434 participants responded to the survey, 43.3% of whom intended to be vaccinated against influenza for the 2020-2021 influenza season, 40.8% had no intention to be vaccinated and 15.9% were uncertain or did not express their opinion. The intention to get vaccinated against influenza is associated with having dependents, the individual’s perception of the risk of being infected with influenza and the perceived risk of transmission to dependents. It is also associated with age, whether the individual had received influenza vaccine the previous season or any other season before. The best predictors of the intention to vaccinate are the individual’s perception of the risk of catching influenza and whether the individual had been vaccinated in the previous season. Conclusions Intention to vaccinate can be a good predictor of individual behaviour in relation to vaccination. During the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic many individuals are hesitant to influenza vaccination. In order to improve influenza vaccination coverage in people included in risk groups, it is necessary to promote educational actions, especially among those who express doubts.


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