How to Reduce Risks to Employment When Using Social Media
Hooper, D. (2014). Social Work Helper. Retrieved from:
http://www.socialworkhelper.com/2014/09/22/reduce-risks-employment-using-social-media/
A recent decision
sanctioning a social worker for a comment on Facebook by
the Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC), a United Kingdom
regulatory body, sparked an international social work debate on the use
of social media in the workplace. Since the decision, I have engaged in
multiple conversations via social media with social workers around the
globe on this very topic, and I will admit that I have often found
myself in the minority arguing against the HCPC’s decision.
Despite the social worker’s comment failing to meet the test for breach of
confidentiality, the majority of social workers favoring the HCPC’s
decision believe that any comments related to work or a case posted on
social media is grounds for termination or discipline even in the
absence of identifiers.
The social worker was not disciplined for
Breach of Confidentiality,
but it was found that her Facebook post “could lead to a Breach of
Confidentiality” despite not giving any personal information or
descriptors about the client.
I am concerned the HCPC decision will set a dangerous precedent by
expanding the scope of breaching confidentiality. The term “could lead
to a Breach of Confidentiality” is so broad it could open up liability
for social workers outside of the internet sphere.
From the HCPC’s
press release on the social worker’s disciplinary action, we actually
learn more about the client than we learned from the social worker’s
actual comment. The HCPC press release states, “Mrs A, the mother of the
children in the case, made a complaint after she searched for the
social worker on Google and found the posts, which she said she was
“disgusted” by.”, which tells us the complaint was a married woman and
parent of the children. Now, these identifier within itself “could lead
to a breach of confidentiality”.
The social worker’s comments
only described that she was working on a “domestic violence case among
other things”. The client assumed the social worker was referring to her
case because it was domestic violence case on the same day as the
social workers check-in on Facebook. I don’t know about you, but I’ve
had three to five cases go to court on the same day and all of them had a
domestic violence element. In the absence of identifiers and a decision
from HCPC, the client had no evidence to prove the social worker’s
comment was about her case. Sanctions and disciplinary actions in your
employment should be based on evidence and not assumptions.
In
retrospect, I do believe the social worker’s comments were ill-advised,
but it’s not for the reasons you may think. I am definitely against and
don’t recommend anyone to commingle your professional life with your
personal Facebook account no matter your profession. As matter of fact,
some of the comments I see from social workers on Facebook make me
afraid for the client’s they are serving. I do and must believe that
social workers have the ability to separate their personal beliefs from
practice, but you may not be able to “unring that bell” with clients or
potential clients after review of your online persona.
The
British Association of Social Workers (BASW) have provided me with one of the
best social media policy guidelines to help social workers
be aware of the pitfalls when using social media personally as well as
using social media to obtain information on clients. However, I have yet
to see any real solutions that equally address social workers safety
with client centered policies. Also, it’s important for us to
acknowledge that clients can’t breach confidentiality in their own case.
If a client wants to publish online every document you send them, it’s
their prerogative, and you should keep this in mind when providing
written documents as well as having oral communications with your
clients.
Google, Facebook, and Twitter are the three primary areas
that cause the greatest concerns for professionals and students. Here
are few recommendations that may help you move one step closer to having
some peace of mind and keeping your job out of jeopardy.
To Google or Not To Google
As
practitioners, we should not be asking whether to Google or Not Google
instead we should be giving you the information on how to Google clients
and potential clients ethically. According to a
recent study by American Psychological Association,
98 percent of clinical, counseling, and school doctoral students
reported Googling their clients. It’s time for this profession to
readjust our reality for the digital world we are living in.
When
Googling a client or anyone for that matter, one must keep in mind that
everything on the internet is not true, and it should not be used to
penalize without giving the individual a chance to respond. However,
for potential clients at a private practice or when making home visits
to new clients, a Google search may be a vital tool in assessing social
worker safety.
Dr. Ofur Zur provides one of the most comprehensive resources on
whether to “Google or not”, and its complete with scenarios and varying
categories to help practitioners decide which category is best for your
practice and needs. It also covers how to use informed consent for
conducting Google searches at the beginning of the therapeutic
relationship.
Tips for Using Facebook
Facebook
is a double-edged sword. When used correctly, Facebook can expand your
reach as an expert, increase traffic to your website, and allow you to
provide support to others on their professional development journey.
Where people get into trouble is when they try to occupy their
professional and personal life in the same virtual space. This is not
limited to commenting, but it also includes likes, shares, who your
friends are, photos, and etc.
I recommend changing your personal
Facebook page to a pseudonym with an avatar or baby picture for your
profile and cover photos. True friends and family members will know who
you are, and Facebook will automatically update your post search history
with your pseudonym or nickname. You should also take
precautions to enhance the security of your Facebook account.
This
will help protect you when clients are actively seeking out content
generated by your social media accounts. Secondly, don’t post case
related items on your personal Facebook account. If you need advice or
an opinion related to a case, message the
Social Work Helper Fan Page.
I frequently post #SWHelper Team Questions as case study questions to
minimize risks to you, and I hope other social work entities will offer
similar support for social workers.
If you chose to anonymize your personal Facebook account, I recommend creating a
Facebook Fan Page in your professional name which can also help with establishing your professional identity.
- You can post information and resources for your clients
- You will no longer need to have embarrassing conversations with clients or coworkers about why you can’t friend them
- Clients can follow your Fan Page without exposing client’s to each other
- You can like other Fan Pages your clients may find useful while organizing resources in a central location
- FB feature allows you to seamlessly switch between your FB account and Fan Page without having to log out
- You can also make comments, like, share photos, and share posts choosing from either profile
To
prevent Facebook from locking your account due to the name change, you
should use a shortened or variation of your real and last name, a common
name with a long search results history, your maiden name, or your
middle name. These are just some of the possibilities you can choose to
prevent Facebook from blocking your account. So, if you don’t want to
explain to a client or an ethics committee about how your personal
beliefs did not affect your decision-making due to memes and content
found on your social media account, please take my advice above.
Making the Most of Twitter
Twitter is one of
the best social media platforms for making connections and expanding
your professional network while enhancing your ability to advocate for
the causes you care about. However, there are times when you do need
anonymity to protect your employment especially if actively engaging in
conversations you don’t want public. Due to my personal philosophy, I
don’t post comments or materials that require me to distinguish between
my professional and personal identity with the exception of the
occasional tweet when I am watching Scandal.
If you are using your
professional name, potential networkers and possible opportunities are
not going to sort out your professional tweets from your personal
tweets. They will all be considered a reflection of you as an
individual. “RT does not = endorsement” is not going to cut it. It’s
safer to not tweet and/or not retweet something you don’t want to
defend, but you could always phrase it a question to ask other’s
opinions. Also, I recommend adding the disclaimer “my opinions are my
own not my employers” on accounts using your professional name. As a
rule of thumb, if your account is going to be opinion filled, use an
avatar with pseudonym for anonymity. It’s better to be safe than sorry
later.
When using your professional name, it should consist of
useful information, advice, inspirational quotes, resources, and/or
projects that make you look good professionally. If you are only on
twitter anonymously, you are missing opportunities to enhance your
professional development. If you are using twitter with your
professional name and it’s a private account, you are still doing
yourself a disservice. What’s the point of being on Twitter with a
private account because it’s difficult for someone to connect with you
and no one can retweet your profound 140 characters.
How Do We Move Forward?
Unfortunately,
many people have been introduced to social media and online technology
as entertainment or to be used as a personal diary. Even if your account
is marked private, using instant messaging, email, online technology
and/or social media should never be used with an expectation of privacy.
You should always assume any information you post online can be privy
to public consumption via screen capturing or other measures from anyone
who is intent on hurting or exposing you.
In my opinion, the
social worker in the above case was condemned because her comment was
posted on Facebook. I argue that if said social worker made the same
comment in a restaurant, classroom, or other public place would the
disciplinary action have been the same? The counter-argument was that
Facebook is public and archived by Google which makes it different. I
assert we all need to be more careful and aware because we live in a
digital age where you can be video tapped or audio recorder via camera
phone, vined, viddyed, snapchat,
etc. The individual in possession of such digital data can make your
actions and comments public without your consent. The medium in which
words and actions are transported is irrelevant, and it
stifles our ability to move the conversation forward instead of focusing on best practices.
Most importantly, one of the biggest issues in the above case not being addressed is that fact the client went onto
Google searching for the social worker in question. Community Care UK reported that
85% of social workers reported being harassed or verbally abused on the job.
Whether the client was acting with nefarious intent or in preparation
for a pending court case, we simply don’t know. However,
social worker
safety should be just as important as client confidentiality. The
biggest mistake made by the disciplined social worker was her checking
in on Facebook thereby giving the time and location for when she would
be in court. Why are we not being programmed to think about social
worker safety as much as client confidentiality is drilled in our heads?
As
a profession, we can not begin the journey of leveraging online
technology and social media to advance social work because we are stuck
having conversations about account creation, security, and ethical use.
These things should always be ongoing conversations, but we have got to
start making advances in tech education and training.
Agencies,
associations, and social work faculty cannot adequately answer or
provide solutions because most don’t use social media or they utilize
outside firms to meet their social media needs. There is nothing wrong
with contracting out to meet the needs of your organization, but we must
also have mechanisms in place to address social workers’ technological
IQ at the micro and mezzo levels.
We must develop continuing
education credits, foundational course work, and in-service trainings to
properly prepare current and future social workers for practice in the
digital age. Social Work education is expensive and students should be
demanding that they get the best resources and training during their
education especially when they can be fired or disciplined for it later.
Most
importantly, we have a duty to our students and professionals to assist
them in harnessing all the advantages that social media and technology
can provide. To learn more about available social media workshops and
consultations, visit
here, and I look forward to your comments and questions.
