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Manners Matter: Work Complaints on Facebook

 Dear Mary Pat,

My employee vents about her work frustrations on her Facebook wall and it’s getting to be an issue. We deal with the public and that can be a challenge sometimes. Ninety-nine percent of the people are great, but there’s always one percent that can push every single one of your buttons. Given that we are in a small community and one that is largely tourist supported, I’m not comfortable with her airing work stories on her Facebook wall. I’m not trying to micromanage her, but I also don’t think it’s right to float those stories on social media. She doesn’t use names, but sometimes the stories are very specific. I’m afraid that one of my customers will see something and put two and two together and I’ll lose business.

Signed,

Nervous Boss

Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

Dear Nervous Boss,

You need to say something. If your employee wants to keep a job with your company, she needs to be responsible when sharing online. Tell her that you aren’t comfortable with her using Facebook as a forum to complain about your customers. Also let her know that she represents your company and you expect her to be professional even when she’s not on the clock. An occasional complaint is no big deal, but if she is posting details about your customers that isn’t good for business. Not to mention that her future employers might see some of her postings and think twice about hiring her.

Good luck,

Mary Pat

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