Extended Post

Summary

You will write an extended blog post of 1,000 words that explores, explains, and analyses social media and personal/personal boundaries in relation to social media use in information organisations.

Extended Post – Social media and personal/professional boundaries

Social media, whether we like it or not, is a part of daily life both within personal and professional realms. As a result, through social media, connections with others has never been easier, more affordable, and effective. Nowadays, if an individual, or an organisation is not engaged in social media, there is the real chance that they will find themselves excluded from society at some level. Subsequently, it would be unlikely to find an organisation within the Galleries, Archives, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) sector in today’s era that does not have a social media presence in some capacity. And accordingly, the individuals working within these organisations are more often than not, also engaged in social media in some form whether it be on a personal or professional level, or both.

Within the GLAM sector, social media platforms are used for professional purposes such as, professional development, to engage with users and promote services, and for communications with colleagues, whilst also being concurrently used to connect with friends and family (Banghart et al., 2018). This is a result of, as Gregg (2013) discusses, the accessibility of mobile technology devices and social media platforms, which can result in professional life encroaching upon personal life and vice versa. Specifically, as Cassano Rizzuti (2020) discuss, it is in social media where the blurring between personal/professional lives is most likely to occur. With personal/professional lines converging and crossing when social media is being used, there arises potential issues of miscommunication, privacy, and unprofessional behaviours taking place both on organisational social media accounts and on employees’ personal accounts. The collision of personal/professional worlds in cyberspace is, as Ollier-Malaterre et al. (2013) discuss, increasingly common in a world when social media infiltrates all corners of the globe. Thus, it is imperative that clear boundaries are put in place to mitigate personal/professional lines being crossed and being clear on how to navigate these when the blurring of personal/professional worlds occurs within information organisations and among its employees.

To create boundaries between personal and professional use of social media for employees, the first step that information organisations need to take is to create a social media policy to guide them. As McLachlan and Newberry (2023) outline, a social media policy is a formal document created by an organisation that outlines the standards for how social media is to be used by the organisation and its employees, and it covers both professional and personal accounts and the channels used. When creating social media policy information organisations benefit from researching policies that already exist among other organisations within the GLAM sector as well as exploring those from outside the sector to gain additional insights. It is key to seek input from stakeholders, including employees, and when it is introduced, the policy needs to be visible and accessible to those who it impacts. Within information organisations this would belong with other policy documents, and this may include it being made available to the public via the organisation’s website depending on whether the policy includes particulars that are applicable to the public as well as employees. Moreover, a schedule for policy review is imperative for this policy, more so than for other policies, as this document is what James (n.d.) calls a ‘living document’, which needs to be regularly reviewed due to the ever-evolving nature of technology and how quickly change can happen thus requiring modifications accordingly. The particulars of a social media policy will be influenced by the specific organization; however, the objective of establishing clear boundaries between professional and personal use is a common factor among GLAM sector organizations.

A key factor to consider when establishing a social media policy is that employees should use a different social media account for professional use, so this is distinct from their personal one. This is crucial to establishing professional and personal boundaries and is the only sure way to avoid confusion between the two. Additionally, thought should be given to whether accessing a professional account should only be done on organisational devices or whether staff can be permitted to do so on their personal devices. The latter has the potential to blur the lines between personal and professional worlds, so this must be carefully considered when defining the policy. Moreover, the reason for which information organisations and their employees use social media on behalf of the institution should be explicitly stated in the policy so that is clear what the social media can and cannot be used for. For instance, according to the American Library Association (ALA), the primary function for social media use in libraries is communication about services and resources and to engage with users (2018). Good digital citizenship should guide the use of social media by employees personally and when representing their organisation. This entails having ‘smart and safe social media habits’, which include thinking before posting, being mindful of the information shared, especially any personal information, and reporting inappropriate or illegal activities (Temple University, 2020). Additionally, it is key, as Kaser Corsillo (2019) discuss, to clearly state in a social media policy who within the information organisation is responsible for maintaining and posting on social media, outlining what is to be posted and how the organisations’ brand will be represented, how issues that arise will be dealt with and security guidelines including those around password management and multi-factor authenticator and deciding who has access.

Along with professional and personal boundaries being crossed within an organisational context, it is important to consider when the lines are blurred outside the workplace when employees use social media to socialise and make connections with their fellow colleagues. As Rothbard et al. (2022) point out, in our very interconnected world, employees need to make choices on setting boundaries between their personal and professional lives as blurring these lines can be complex and have both associated benefits as well risks. Recognising and respecting that individuals have different comfort levels and preferences associated with social media and how they use it personally and professionally is key to supporting employees in navigating their own boundaries and decision making when it comes to social media use.

Given the ease with which mobile technologies now allow employees to cross between their professional and personal lives using social media, information organisations must implement policies, specifically around social media use, to protect both themselves and their employees. This will allow clear boundaries to be established and for procedures to address issues that can arise when the use of social media between professional and personal worlds is blurred.

 

Word count – 1,086

 

REFERENCES

American Library Association (ALA). (2018). Social media guidelines for public and academic libraries. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/socialmediaguidelines

 

Banghart, S., Etter, M., & Stohl, C. (2018). Organizational boundary regulation through social media policies. Management communication quarterly, 32(3), 337-373. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318918766405

 

Cassano Rizzuti, J. (2020). Social media: Are the lines between professional and personal use blurring? McMaster Journal of Communication 12(2). https://doi.org/10.15173/mjc.v12i2.2464

 

Gregg, M. (2013). Work’s intimacy. John Wiley & Sons.

 

James, S. (n.d.). Social media ethics: Why you should have a policy. Steam Creative Blog. https://www.streamcreative.com/blog/bid/52570/Social-Media-Ethics-Why-You-Should-Have-a-Policy

 

Kaser Corsillo, G. (2019, June 28). Staying social: Why your library needs social media policies. Public Libraries ONLine. https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2019/06/staying-social-why-your-library-needs-social-media-policies/

 

McLachlan, S., & Newberry, C. (2023, June 8). How to write a social media policy [Template]. Hootsuite. https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-policy-for-employees/

 

NCMIC. (2021).  [Digital on a hand being held up on the left with social media icons on the right on a blue background].  https://www.ncmic.com/webres/Image/learning-center/risk-mgmt/Social%20Media/NCMIC%201460×420.jpg

Ollier-Malaterre, A., Rothbard, N. P., & Berg, J. M. (2013). When worlds collide in cyberspace: How boundary work in online social networks impacts professional relationships. The Academy of Management review, 38(4), 645-669. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2011.0235

Rothbard, N. P., Ramarajan, L., Ollier-Malaterre, A., & Lee, S. S. (2022). Omg! My boss just friended me: How evaluations of colleagues’ disclosure, gender, and rank shape personal/professional boundary blurring online. Academy of Management journal, 65(1), 35-65. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2018.0755

 

Temple University. (2020, October 6). Your guide to being a good digital citizen Temple Now. https://news.temple.edu/nutshell/2020-10-06/digital-citizenship-0