Social Media Challenges in the Workplace – CIRA panel discussion

November 24, 2011
CIRA Dinner Calgary

(Left to Right) John Moreau, Tom Hesse, Sarah Eaton and Andy Robertson debating social media challenges in the workplace

Tonight I took place on a panel discussion in Calgary on the issue of social media challenges in Calgary. The dinner event was hosted by the Southern Alberta chapter of the Canadian Industrial Relations Association (CIRA), and organized by Dr. Kelly Williams-Whitt, who is a professor of Labour Relations at the University of Lethbridge (Calgary Campus) and serves in a leadership role with CIRA.

My fellow panelists were:

  • Andy Robertson, Partner, Macleod Dixon LLP
  • Tom Hesse, United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW) 401
  • John Moreau, Arbitrator

Dr. Whitt presented us with three Canadian labour cases including:

  1. A female employed in the health care sector who posted photos of patients without their permission on her blog, discussing their conditions and making disparaging remarks about her fellow employees, her workplace and her bosses. (She was later dismissed from her job.)
  2. A male employee with documented mental health issues who blogged about his Neo-Nazi beliefs, his hatred of certain racial groups, the desecration of animal remains that he took part in, the anti-depressants he was on and other assorted topics. He mentioned the name of his employer in his blog. (He was suspended from work and then reinstated.)
  3. A male employee who circulated pornography to his co-workers and was later found to have over 3000 pornographic images and some porn videos in his work e-mail account. (He was suspended from work and then reinstated).

Each panelist gave commentary on the cases, based on their respective experience. My point of view was mainly “pro” social media. My main arguments were:

  • Most companies do not train their employees adequately on how to use social media effectively and responsibly.
  • Organizations need to make their expectations about online behaviour very clear to employees.
  • Everyone who engages in social media leaves a “digital footprint”. Employees and employers need to be aware of what this is and what it can mean over the long term.
  • Digital citizenship is in an important skills to learn in the 21st century.
  • Online reputation management is becoming more important for both employees and employers.

Here’s a clip of my commentary:

It was a lively and invigorating discussion that touched on topics such as personal freedoms, organizational control, common sense and personal responsibility. My fellow panelists were articulate, well-informed and thoughtful in their responses. Being neither a lawyer, nor a union voice, I was honoured to take part in the discussion.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Best resources of the week (Nov. 13 to 19, 2011)

November 20, 2011

Here are my favorite resources of the week, curated from my Twitter account.

Social Media

Social media increasingly used to guage public health – by Christine Moyer, American Medical News

How to Create a Social Media Marketing Schedule – by John D. Leavy

Literacy and Essential Skills

What have you learned about teaching others to read? Share your story – Educational Leadership seeks 200-word stories of wisdom from educators. Add yours.

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You: Literacy’s Impact on Workplace Health and Safety by Alison Campbell, Conference Board of Canada

Education News

Foreign languages ‘essential for our children’s future’ – Published by The Financial

More Foreign Language Classes Use Online Education – by Catherine Groux, U.S. News

Exam approach fails many – Edmonton Journal

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

30% of people under 30 say “social media freedom” more important than salary

November 20, 2011

While employers are struggling to crack down on employees’ social media behaviour, young professionals are saying “Don’t bother trying. We won’t be controlled”.

In a story called “Great Tech Expectations“, The Province reports some startling statistics about the Millennial generation (those under 30). The article draws on research presented in the 2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report. The research surveyed 2800 students across 14 countries, all under the age of 30. The findings revealed that:

The study, which surveyed 2,800 college students and young professionals in 14 countries, found:

  • 56%of college students “said that if they encountered a company that banned access to social media, they would either not accept a job offer or would join and find a way to circumvent corporate policy.”
  • 1 in 3 respondents younger than 30 said social-media freedom and workplace mobility were more important than salary.
  • A quarter of college students said a prospective employer’s policy on social media usage would affect their decision in accepting or declining the job.
  • In India and China, more than 80% of respondents said their primary work device should be mobile.
  • More than 70% of college students said they didn’t want to differentiate between “personal” and work-related devices – “company-issued devices should be allowed for personal and business use because of the daily blending of work and personal communications.”
  • 70%  also say they want to be out of the office regularly, working remotely.

Read the whole article.

While employers are fighting to control what employees are doing on line, employees are fighting for their online freedom. This is especially true in education, where school boards argue that teachers are role models for children and often impose strict social media guidelines. It also applies to other industries where companies and non-profit organizations are desperately trying to figure what to do — and they want to do it quickly.

If you’re in Calgary, join me at an event hosted by the Canadian Industrial Relations Association this coming Thursday. I’ll be on a panel of experts debating with a lawyer and an arbitrator about how to deal with social media challenges at work.

How do you feel about employees using social media? Or employers trying to control your use of social media?

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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How technology has changed reading in the 21st century

November 18, 2011

Alice in WonderlandWhat would you do if your favorite little child begged you to write down the story you had told him or her orally? Would you go to the computer and start typing? Would you print it out on paper? Turn it into a slide presentation with engaging visuals? Put it onto an iPad to share together as you sit on the sofa?

C.M. Rubin ponders this question in her fascinating article “How Will We Read? – The Book Given”. She writes:

“On November 26, 1864, Lewis Carroll gave my relative, Alice Pleasance Liddell, a book he had written for her… If the book given to Alice in 1864 was given today, just imagine the variety of different ways a creative chap like Lewis Carroll might have presented it to his Alice.  Quantum leaps in technology have completely changed the way we write, illustrate, publish, market, promote and consume books.” Read the full article.

There is no question that the act of reading is changing. Just over a year ago, I blogged about an article from the Smithsonian about how digital technologies physically change the act of reading.

While bibliophiles like me may love to hold a paper book in their hand, the children of the twenty first century will also need to know how to understand and work with written text presented in a digital format. If you’re a language or literacy teacher, or even a parent who snuggles up with your little one to read a bedtime story, are you incorporating digital technologies to help the children you care about learn how to read with technology?

Related post: Teaching reading the 21st century way http://wp.me/pNAh3-cb

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Sharing the insanity: Confessions of a self-published writer (Part 2 of 2)

November 14, 2011

In Confessions of a Self-Published Writer (Part 1), I talked about what it was like for me to self-publish in 2002 and how self-publishing has evolved in recent years. This year, I was presented with an opportunity to share what I’ve learned in the past decade or so to help someone else.

When Alia Azim Garcia came to talk to me about publishing her book, it never occurred to me to say no. She was charged with the task of writing a textbook for Human Resources (HR) students and professionals. She had the expertise to write the book and the support of her professional peers in the Human Resources Partnership Council at the Bissett School of Business at Mount Royal University. I had experience in publishing, technical writing, simple book design and marketing. We began to talk about how we could use our combined skill set to make her book a reality.

We rolled up our sleeves and got to work. For the past 18 months or so, a team of us have been working hard to edit, design and print her book. She worked with an editor at the university. I brought in experts in book printing that I have worked with on previous projects. All in all, our team consisted of about 15 people, some working locally and others who worked at a distance, who  each worked on different pieces of the project.

You Did What? AzimThe outcome was the successful publication of You Did What?! A Reality Check on Human Resources Practices. This book is a compilation of scenarios that Human Resource professionals are required to address on a regular basis and provides an excellent resource for training and discussion.

For me, working with a writer to help her publish her work successfully meant sharing my knowledge and expertise of almost a decade of experience publishing paperbacks and e-books to make someone else’s dream of publishing a book come true. I went from being a self-publisher to being a publisher.

As a result, Onate Press, was born. Officially, it is an imprint or a division of Eaton International Consulting Inc., the small business I’ve run for over a decade that’s dedicated to building, researching and delivering educational programs. In effect, I ended up creating a small “indie” (short for “independent”) press that publishes materials to support and are aligned with my values as a lifelong educator.

Self-publishing is fun and exhilarating. When you publish other people’s material, the idea is for them to feel the exhilaration and for you to take on the responsibility of ensuring that the details and logistics of the publication process run smoothly. I have learned that publishing other people’s work can be quite stressful, because you want the final product to be excellent quality for both you and them.

There were lighthearted aspects of the project, too. While the final print-ready copy of the book was in the hands of the printer, we had some fun and videotaped an interview to let people know about the book:

Mount Royal University and the Human Resources Partnership Council have been stellar partners in this process. They have arranged for the book to be officially launched at the 8th Annual HR Breakfast that takes place tomorrow. The breakfast, which is being held at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and is co-hosted by local TV personality, Gord Gillies of Global television, has sold out.

When you self-publish, there is a sense of solitude, of being a lone wolf in a world where others may not understand you or your vision or what you hope to achieve. Unless you are at the very top of your game (and very few self-published authors are), the idea of having your book launched at a local event hosted by a TV personality is simply not feasible. When you publish someone else’s work, working with a team of people are collectively dedicated to making the endeavour a success, the experience is completely different.

The book is now for sale as a paperback, as well as in Kindle editions through Amazon.com (U.S.A and Canada), Amazon.UK (United Kingdom), Amazon.FR (France) and Amazon.DE (Germany).

Alia is donating all of her royalites to the Human Resources Partnership Council Legacy Scholarship, which supports students studying human resources at Mount Royal University.

Doing it yourself is ruggedly exhilarating in a pioneering sort of way. Collaborating with a team brings a deeper sense of success, knowing that you have collectively worked together to achieve a bigger vision. I’m so proud of Alia… and thrilled to have been invited to play a role in her exciting launch into the world of being an author.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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