Should employers ask candidates for their Facebook passwords ...

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By Lauren | March 23, 2012

This post continues my Friday series examining some of the imbalances of power in our society and the ethical questions they raise. Yesterday, I was troubled to read an Associated Press story about the latest technique that employers are using to vet job applicants. It?s common for managers to peruse applicants? public online postings, but many people restrict access to their social media profiles to friends and family. To make sure that they?ve gathered every possible last scintilla of potenially damaging information when those people apply for jobs, many companies and government agencies are now demanding candidates? log-in information so they can poke around on their private Facebook pages. Others insist that candidates log into their accounts on a company computer. Interviewers then ask the candidates to sign agreements banning them from talking negatively about the company after leaving the interview. Some candidates refuse and withdraw their job applications. Sadly, others - especially those who lost their jobs when the recession hit - have little choice but to agree. The ACLU has condemned the practice as an invasion of privacy, and Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is already preparing a bill to ban it. (Good for you, Senator!) Regardless of legality, though, I have to ask: is this really the way we want to interact with one another?

The balance of power between employers and prospective employees has always tended to tip in the employer?s favor. That doesn?t mean, though, that employers should use that power to bully their way into candidates? intentionally private spaces. Nobody has to set up a social media profile, I suppose, but it?s certainly a wonderful way to stay in touch with loved ones. Shouldn?t people be able to do that without having to worry that every ill-considered word or unflattering picture that?s posted may be used against them every time they look for work?

And what do companies expect to find on those private profiles, anyway? They might dig up something genuinely valuable once in a very great while, but the vast majority of what they?ll see is likely to be boring and irrelevant, and the rest embarrassing but ultimately innocent. People have odd hobbies and interests, and they do silly things in front of the camera sometimes. That doesn?t mean they wouldn?t make great employees. Quite the contrary - I tend to think that anyone who?s never taken an embarrassing picture or said something they regretted would probably be an unimaginative dolt or a hyper-defensive sociopath. Would you really want to hire either one? And why would any employer want to start a relationship with a new employee by playing Big Brother? How much respect and loyalty could such an employer possibly inspire?

The economy is recovering, albeit slowly, giving employers a new opportunity to treat their employees, current and prospective, with kindness and respect. Instead of violating employees? privacy, wouldn?t it be better for employers to ask good questions in interviews, listen carefully to the answers, then make hiring decisions based on what?s publicly available to them? That might not flush out every possible problem employee, but digging around on Facebook won?t, either. Reasonable respect for employee privacy will, I think, yield better relationships and, ultimately, better business results.

Topics: Business Ethics, Legal Ethics, Professional Ethics, Social Ethics, business communications, corporate responsibility, ethics |

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