Personal vs Professional

In the last 5 to 10 years through the rise of social networks, many people have made their personal lives visible online to people who traditionally would have very little insight into their life.  I am not speaking here about some random guy on the other side of the planet, but rather a little closer to home.  With the rising visibility of your personal life to your employers, many people have found themselves in a position where their employers look at them not only as an employee but as an actual person.  This can be good in many ways but more often than not, this new level of insight turns very negative.

I often see on social networks a disclaimer to the effect of "The views and opinions expressed here are my own and they do not reflect the views of my employer" with many people seemingly under the delusion this disclaimer excuses them of accountability or indemnifies their employers for their behaviour.  In the UK at least this is not the case.  I am not sufficiently versed in US law to advise on legality in that jurisdiction but considering the fact there are many states in the USA where you can still be legally fired for being gay I would very much doubt they were any different with this disclaimer and its complete lack of utility.

I have worked for large employers before and dealt with staff training that revolved around the use of social media and what a person says and does on that media.  I can say categorically with the legal advice I have been given in the past by several legal teams for these employers, this disclaimer has no use as a legal defence at all.  Employment tribunals held in the name of employees who were fired for comments they made on social media are common place in the UK, and increasingly people are becoming aware of this and the fall of the wall between personal and professional life.

I have written before on this blog about prospective employers using information about candidates they find online when considering when to hire someone, this is in many ways a continuation of that scrutiny.  Being hired is not the end of the scrutiny from your employer, what you say and do in your own personal life on social media and elsewhere can still impact your professional life and lead to at the extreme dismissal or legal action being taken against you.

The question is where should this line be drawn?  At what point does an employer invade your right to privacy and your right to a private life?  If what you say and do has no impact on your ability to carry out the duties of your post then does an employer have a right at all to even know what you do outside work?

This is not an easy question to answer for many reasons.  First and foremost for me is the fact I can see both sides of the argument.  I have seen people particularly in the public eye, some very high and widely publicised people, who say or do things which make me deeply uncomfortable with the fact they hold a given position.  I have seen people who arguably could still do their jobs despite the opinions and comments they made in social media but still the fact they made them in the first place is able to let you know much more about the actual person.  Likewise on the other hand I have seen people who were fired, or who "resigned" from their posts after certain media incidents revolving around their actions on social media which have left me thinking their position was determined solely on popularity rather than ability.

The question remains, where do you draw the line between personal and professional life?  Do you even draw a line at all?