With social media giving a voice to nearly everyone with an internet connection, local businesses have become increasingly aware of the effects a social media post can have on their public image.<\/p>\n
While this is beneficial for public discourse and the improvement of products and services, the people employed by corporations are often conflicted as they play the dual function of employee and customer in the relationship, says Kgothatso Mampa of ENSafrica’s technology, media and telecommunications department.<\/p>\n
“As such, whether employees of a corporate entity are entitled to publicly criticise their employer is a tricky question to answer,” Mampa said.<\/p>\n
“The Constitution, which is the supreme law of South Africa, is very clear about what is not protected by the right to freedom of expression.<\/p>\n
“As such, as long as utterances do not incite violence, constitute hate speech or propaganda for war, it seems like employees are licensed to openly criticise their employer.<\/p>\n
However, the issue is not that simple, Mampa warned.<\/p>\n
“Employment relationships at this level are governed by employment contracts. Savvy employers further regulate the relationship with social media polices, pronounced grievance procedures and company IT use or network policies.<\/p>\n
“One of the tenets of employment relationships is that employees owe employers the duty to uphold the values of their employer and the duty to not bring the employer into disrepute.<\/p>\n
“Thus, while the Constitution permits employees to liberally criticise their employer in the name of freedom of expression, the employees run the risk of breaching their contractual obligations to their employer,” Mampa said.<\/p>\n
Whether citizens you like it or not, social media has effectively made every single person who works for a recognisable organisation a brand ambassador of that organisation, Mampa added.<\/p>\n
However he added that employers should not be opposed to receiving criticism.<\/p>\n
“Clamping down on criticism can have catastrophic consequences because in the absence of criticism, there is no opportunity to self-correct,” Mampa said.<\/p>\n
“In an environment where people are encouraged to speak up and have their legitimate concerns addressed, it is conceivable that the same people will speak out.<\/p>\n
“Employers and employees have to accept that in the age of social media, if either of them get it wrong, both parties will be surrounded by a miasma of scandal that touches them both by association.”<\/p>\n