Employers Fire Social Networkers
November 13, 2007 | by Christopher Nickson
Misuse of the Internet has led to a number of sackings and reprimands among public sector employees in the UK.
British newspaper the Guardian has discovered that employers are cracking down on misuse of the Internet at work, and that over 1,700 public sector employees have been either disciplined or even fired for their actions.
The most common offenses seem to be misuse of e-mail and excessive use of non work-related sites, to the point where employers have been forced to ban some sites from the workplace. The Ministry of Justice has fired 30 employees who were in breach of regulations, and another government department issued 313 reprimands.
Even the Metropolitan Police has been forced to discipline staff, including some who uploaded video clips to Facebook, with one officer revealing that he enjoyed his job because “I get to hit people with a stick.”
Unions have said that disputes over the use of sites have risen at a remarkable rate recently, and have asked for more definitive guidelines to be set up. One of the biggest problems seems to be with employees using social networking sites while on the clock. According to estimates, up to $250 a day in productivity is lost each day by employees indulging in online activities.
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