Another angry rant at the ... blogosphere?

We’ve all had our fair share of bad days at work. No matter which industry you work in, there will always be “that one customer” in which a casual whine can quickly escalate into a long and lengthy rant. Employees have now turned to the online world where it is seen as “acceptable” to vent our frustration with our keyboards without other customers or our employers finding out; the blogosphere. According to Ferdig and Trammel (2004), the blogosphere is often likened to a collection or series of online personal journals that are considered unedited and reflects the true opinion of the writer in which “bloggers” occupy. This implies bloggers are able to criticize any detail of the work environment right down to other employees, customers or managers whilst maintaining a semi anonymous identity…well that is until the organization finds out.

 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7nQ24J3pJA, Fox Broadcasting Company, retrieved 7 September 2013) 

While venting online can provide helpful insights about how the company can further improve particular work aspects in the future, where do we draw the line between offering constructive criticism and downright complaining? While not all posts are negative, the majority of them are. According to Richards and Kosmala (2013) the blogosphere allows employees to escape their corporate culture where employees are expected to be self-disciplined and follow work protocols. With the blogosphere on the other hand, the power is reversed. Employees are given a sense of control and community with others that feel the same way which allows employees to feel empowered with a sense of authority. But this can also back fire on the individual when inappropriate photos are posted online leading to them being sacked. (See picture below)

(Picture sourced from: http://www.webpronews.com/kfc-employee-fired-after-mashed-potato-licking-photos-hit-facebook-2013-02)

 

Before you quickly log on and type about a particular “opinionated” (read annoying) customer causing a scene at your workplace, just remember is it really beneficial to the company that you represent or your reputation? There is no question that blogs are useful in conveying an individual’s opinions, but there are also risks involved with heading onto the online world and posting work related rants. For managerial concerns, it is best to address the “root of the problem” with the manager than to convey this online, but with the expansion of the online community, will the “grass root” concerns ever be addressed if no action is taken at the actual workplace?

 

Bibliography:

Family Guy – Women complain about work clip, video, 20 January 2013, date retrieved: 7 September 2013,  <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7nQ24J3pJA>

Ferdig, R. E., and Trammell, K. D., 2004. ‘Content delivery in the ‘blogosphere’, The Journal, vol. 31, no. 7, pg. 12-20.

Richards, J., and Kosmala, K., 2013 ‘In the end, you can only slag people off for so long’: employee cynicism through work blogging’, New Technology, Work and Employment, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 68 – 77.