Do You Tweet?

If you have a Twitter, think before you tweet! Don’t tweet about anything having to do with your workplace. Period. Don’t tweet on company time. And before you tweet anything, think about how it would look to your boss, or one of your colleagues or clients. Tweets about your boss’s personality quirks, your crushing workload, a difficult client, the loud person sitting in the next cubicle or the IT person who can’t get your computer fixed, can get you in serious trouble on the job. Above all else, don’t tweet about information that isn’t absolutely publicly available.

Remember that your tweets are easily accessible. If anyone shows them to your employer, you could be fired for divulging information, giving your workplace a bad name, or just displaying what the boss thinks is poor judgment. Keep in mind that in New York, if you work for a private employer and you do not have a contract or a union, you are an employee at will. That means your employer does not need a good reason to fire you. Even if you have an employment contract or belong to a union, your tweet may constitute good cause for your termination. If the boss doesn’t like what you tweet – whether or not it’s job-related – you may be out of a job. So, if you use Twitter, keep in mind that your audience is potentially unlimited, and may be filled with people who might not take kindly to your comments.