Public Servant Lifestyle

Polls find staff 'incensed' by cyber-snooping bosses.

More and more managers are using social networking sites to dig out personal information about employees but most workers would be incensed to find their boss snooping around in their online life.

A poll by recruitment firm Manpower has found that almost half of workers would feel 'disgusted' if they discovered their employer had used sites such as Facebook, Bebo or Friends Reunited to find out about them. And more than half – 56% – would regard such actions are unethical.

Yet employers are increasingly exploiting social networking sites to unearth information about prospective recruits. In March, a survey of 500 employers carried out by recruitment agency Poolia found two-thirds admitted regularly carrying out internet searches - including making checks on social networking sites.

Another poll of 2,000 workers and 600 employers by social networking site Viadeo reported one in five organisations doing the same thing, with a quarter of these having rejected applicants as a result.

According to the Manpower survey, while nearly a third of workers were not worried about their personal information being accessed by employers, four out of ten had already limited their online data. Nearly two thirds would not feel comfortable being interviewed online or by other virtual means, although 90% agreed that technology was likely to play a bigger role in the workplace in ten years’ time.

The increasing popularity of social networks has prompted careers experts and recruiters to warn workers to be aware of their ‘NetRep’, or internet reputation. They argue that posting information that might at the time seem like harmless fun can come back to haunt you when looking for a job.

Jason Greaves, director of commercial staffing at Manpower UK, said: "The world of work is changing and the explosive growth of social networking sites provides a new way for people to communicate with each other.

"Although the primary use of these sites seems to be for personal reasons, employers and employees alike are now using the sites for work purposes, which can save both time and money."

Nick Dettmar, managing director of Computer People - part of the Adecco group - said the proliferation of social networking sites meant employers must look out for new recruitment methods. "The ever increasing popularity of social networking sites has indeed begun to shape the future landscape of the recruitment process and forces us to consider the varied ways and means in which to reach potential candidates" he said.

See also on Lifestyle: Bosses Face 'Facebook' Challenge - Trades Union Congress: Employers need to face facts in the age of 'Facebook' and social networking websites.

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