Bloggers may be penalized: Reasons and Remedies
Blogging can get you in trouble nowadays! Are you shocked with the news? Yes, if you are employed and writing stuffs that are not acceptable by your employer, you can be fired. Google, Friendster, Microsoft – all these giants have done it earlier.
So, are you afraid of being a professional blogger? There is no reason to be in panic. The danger is not for all.
Who are the sufferers?
Bloggers, who don’t abide by corporate policies, leak out confidential information, affect company reputation and are fooling around online are the victims. This is a typical situation. As popularity of blogs is increasing and search tools and techniques are getting better, such complicacies are likely to increase. You never know when your corporate manager would sack you for the negative opinions you have expressed in your blog.
Reasons to be penalized:
Well, blogging at home and blogging at work, both can be equally dangerous. If you write online journals that hamper your company’s image, interest and privacy, you are the offender. As said earlier, Delta Airliners, Google, Microsoft, Friendster, Well Fargo have fired their employees and contractors for the same reason. In most of the cases, it was found that either, fellow workers disclosed security information or they attacked boss’s sensibilities.
What is the ratio of risk?
Don’t worry. It is not alarming yet. In a recent survey conducted by Society for Human Resources Management, it was found that only 3 % of the all companies have applied strict regulations for the bloggers working there. The cases of firing employees are rare.
How safe you are?
It depends on how you company sees you perusing your blog and the country you live in. In most of the states, there is effectively no protection law reserved for the employees. Places like California, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota, New York have recently enacted laws against employers who are firing employees. If an employee is on off-duty and the blog content is not related to company job, there is no possibility of firing.
What are the remedies?
It is pretty simple.
- Follow the guidelines on blogging scope as depicted by your management.
- Never make any contradictory comments that may fix you and your company in trouble.
- Write something that users can learn and apply to their regular life.
- Be transparent in your views.
- Don’t waste company hours or make your boss fool around you.
- Don’t just create a blog to let the world know about your problems in personal life. For that you can join forum and find quick solutions. Or, consult experts.
- Even if you are struggling with your job never use your professional details on the blog. It may create a bad impact on your organizational reputation.
- Be neutral, unbiased and receptive to what is happening around you.
- Learn how to use “Freedom of speech” properly.
- Be honest and productive to your company and its resource.
Thus, you can help yourself avoid any kind of blogging issues. It is pretty simple and effective too.
About the author:
Sanat Singha is a senior content writer who loves to discuss on blogs and blogging etiquettes. He is currently associated with Softz Solutions.com – one of the leading search engine optimization India Company.
