Social media is an ever popular topic. It has increased rapidly in popularity, both in overall culture and in the workplace.

People are living their lives through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Facebook alone has 1.49 billion users and LinkedIn’s community is growing month on month, with the latest figures coming in at 380 million users. Companies are now looking to social media to effectively promote the organisation to clients and customers, as well as to internally communicate among employees.

So why is social media usage simultaneously rising and falling in the workplace?  It all comes down to employees posting negative, inappropriate, and even inflammatory content. As more employees are reprimanded or even dismissed over the things they choose to post on their social channels, employers are paying more attention to what their staff are saying online.

The HR Department are currently conducting a survey to get a better understanding of the use of social media in Irish businesses. We'd really appreciate it if you could take the time to complete our questionnaire. It shouldn't take any more than 10 minutes and will go a long way in helping us recognise the social media habits of Irish employees and challenges companies may face in regards to having appropriate policies in place.

You can complete the survey at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FBLMV8J. Anyone who completes the survey and includes their email address will be entered into a draw to receive a complimentary digital personalised staff handbook, a comprehensive contract of employment and a one hour intensive HR coaching session worth €350.


See below for some of my tips on social media in the workplace:


How to Balance Social Media with Productivity

As many people have experienced, one can become easily distracted by social media – a 5 minute breather suddenly turns into a 30 minute break, and this is the risk that leads many employers to completely remove social media access from work devices.

However, it can be argued that employees will take breaks anyway; to make a cup of tea, go for a cigarette or chat with a team member. That combined with the fact that sixty-eight percent of all time spent on Facebook is done via mobile, and with Twitter being even higher at 86 percent, an employer is fighting a battle that cannot be won. If an employee wants to look on Facebook at work or tweet they will simply check social media accounts on their phones or other personal devices.

Employers may want to rethink putting a ban on social media in work. A study from Microsoft showed that there is a correlation between social media usage in the office and increased productivity. It turns out that prohibiting social media access at work can actually be less effective at reducing productivity loss than first thought, and doing so could even reduce employee satisfaction—which could negatively affect productivity more in the long run. The simple act of taking a break, even to catch up on social media, can help employees clear their heads and come back refreshed to tackle projects.


What Limits and Considerations Apply to an Employer’s Monitoring of Social Media Use by Employees at Work?

In most jurisdictions, the main issue is to balance an employer’s legitimate interest in protecting its business versus an employee’s right to privacy.

Key factors to consider are:

• Monitoring should go no further than is necessary to protect the employer’s business interests.
  
• Monitoring should be conducted only by designated employees, who have been adequately trained to understand the limits on their activities.
  
• Personal data collected as a result of any monitoring should be stored safely, not tampered with, and not disseminated more widely than is necessary nor stored longer than is necessary.
  
• Train management and employees in the correct use of information technology.
  
• Be able to particularize and document any misuse of social media sites by employees.
  

In Ireland, any restriction on an employee’s right to privacy has to be proportional to the potential damage to the employer’s legitimate business interests. Employers are recommended to have a satisfactory usage policy in place, which reflects the balance between the employer’s appropriate interests and an employee’s right to privacy. The codes of data protection require transparency, fair and lawful possessing of data and the need to ensure that any infringement on an employee’s privacy is fair and proportionate.


Necessary Actions for Organisations to take Control

Before you give you staff free reign on social media in the workplace, put the following procedures in place to take control, whilst leveraging the rewards and mitigating the risks of social media usage.

• Review your company policy to include social media
  

Your social media policy should be concrete and easily accessible for all your employees who might be confused about their responsibilities when it comes to social media. Your guidelines should be an evolving document, but it also needs to be crystal clear about what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour in regards to social media usage, both in and outside the office. Be sure to understand the platforms employees are using, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, Google+, LinkedIn etc. and continually evaluate the risk and reward of the platforms employees have access to with a corresponding policy.

• Remember employees represent your company
  

Your employees are the face of your company whether your organisation has a multi-million turnover or is a growing start-up. You need to ensure that staff represent your company in the best light possible and that employees realize that something they say online can impact their professional persona, as well as your company. It is your role as an employer to help educate employees about living in a “professional online world”.

• Invest in training

Take the time to invest in professionals to teach employees and managers how to use social media correctly without abusing social power. Audit the process on an ongoing basis and refresh policies when necessary, to ensure the implemented technology is accomplishing the company goals with quantifiable statistics.

• Use internal social media for teamwork
  

Social media shouldn't only be used for 140 character bursts or Instagramming a lunch order. There are a number of internal business social media tools which are helping companies collaborate more quickly through building communication between staff members from different departments and offices.



The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.

Summer is over and the evenings are starting to roll in earlier with each day that passes. For many people, the darker winter days and bad weather to come over the next few months will lead to dreary moods, unproductivity and a lack of motivation, all of which need to be tackled head on with employee wellness programs in the workplace.

Wellness programs aren't new by any means, however if employers haven’t incorporated one into their workplace by now, then they are missing out on potentially encouraging employees to be happier and more productive. With the short summer we had behind us, now would be a good time for business owners to look into employee wellness options to ensure programs are in full swing once the clocks go back at the end of next month.

What is a Corporate Wellness Program?

Supporting healthy behaviour and improving health at work can be offered in a variety of ways through health promotion activities and policies. Programs can include activities such as health education and coaching, medical screenings, subsidised gym memberships, monthly massages and weight management courses.

Some employers may wish to incorporate a program into the workplace in stages, in which simple changes can be made to begin the process of facilitating employee health. Allowing time for exercise over lunch, including healthy food options in onsite vending machines and subsidising healthy food options in a staff canteen all encourage staff to participate in programs.

Why Incorporate a Wellness Program into a Company?

The benefits of wellness programs are extensive for employers. At first glance, it may seem that the expense of such programs is not worthwhile; however, although the return on investment may take time there are a number of immediate benefits to be seen.

Implementing a corporate wellness program sends an important message to all staff and potential employees, telling them that the company values their health and well-being. The message in itself reassures employees that their best interests are being considered and helps retain top talent. With so many people becoming increasingly health conscious, offering a wellness program also works as an effective public relations tool for a company, and can work as a strong advantage against potential industry competitors.

Over time, one of the main benefits of wellness programs is a reduction in the rate of illness and injuries amongst staff. Work related injuries can vary from muscle strain to stress fractures or back pain. If left untreated over time, employees’ injuries may further develop to diabetes, heart disease or stress which leads to long term sick leave and added expense to the company.

In any company, employees who are happy and healthy will be more productive and produce a high quality of work. As a result, employers need to realise that offering wellness programs will hopefully lead to lower staff stress levels and lower employee turnover.

If employees need to be replaced due to illness and/or unhappiness in the workplace, employers must remember that recruiting, marketing and advertising for positions in a company takes time and money. Therefore, eliminating the issue of a dissatisfied staff member before it gets to this stage ensures that employers can focus on employees getting the job done.

Plan a Successful Wellness Program

Below I include a few tips to implement and maintain a successful corporate wellness plan:

1. Consider the goals and objectives for setting a wellness plan to begin with and stay consistent with them. Make sure that all goals are realistic and attainable, as well as measurable over time.
   
2. Ensure that sufficient budgets are allocated for wellness programs and look at long term changes to be made. It’s imperative that every member of senior management understands the importance of program and is on board with the idea. Budgets should include staff incentives for initiating and maintaining employee participation.
   
3. If resources allow, hiring a wellness consultant is advantageous in planning and executing a comprehensive plan. Generally, experienced consultants produce faster results as well as help in evaluating foals and modifying programs as necessary.
   
4. Do some research to see what the top health issues are within the company and the population as a whole. Does high blood pressure play a big factor or are many employees overweight? Programs should be tailored to try and positively amend the majority of issues.
   
5. Consistently evaluate outcomes to ensure that goals and objectives have been achieved. Evaluating the program allows positive changes to be celebrated or for necessary modifications to take place.
   

The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.

You may not be aware of it but the Government recently passed new legislation to employee annual leave that entitles employees to accrue annual leave even when they’re on long term sick leave. The commencement of section 86 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, which came into effect on 1st August, brings Ireland squarely in line with the Court of Justice of the European Union rulings on accrual of annual leave entitlements during sick leave.
But just what does this mean for employers?  There are three main points to be taken from the new legislation, which all Irish business owners must be aware of:

• Statutory annual leave entitlement accrues during a period of certified sick leave.

• An annual leave carry-over period of 15 months after a leave year will apply to those employees who could not, due to illness, take annual leave during the relevant leave year or during the normal carry-over period of six months.
  
• On termination of employment, payment in lieu of untaken accrued annual leave will apply to leave which was untaken as a result of illness in circumstances where the employee leaves the employment within a period of 15 months following the end of the leave year during which the statutory leave entitlement accrued. It is important to note that the revised section 23 of the OWT Act provides that account should be taken of not only the current leave year but also the 2 leave years immediately preceding the current leave year.

Taking these changes into account, we would strongly recommend Irish employers take the following steps – outlined by Goodbodys Solicitors - to ensure they are compliant:

1.       Review and update your contract templates and Employee Handbook or Sick Pay and Annual Leave policies to ensure that they are compliant with the revised national law. Be clear in your documentation that the accrual of annual leave applies to statutory leave entitlements only.

2.       Carry out an assessment or audit of existing staff that are currently absent on long-term sickness absence and ensure that their annual leave entitlements are being calculated correctly.

3.       Bolster medical certification procedures to ensure that any long-term absence is fully certified by a qualified medical practitioner.

4.       In situations of termination, be mindful of the new definition of "relevant period" and ensure that employees are paid in respect of all accrued but untaken annual leave up to the date of termination of employment.

If you need further advice on this matter, or any other issues relating to HR and employment law, get in touch with us.