Is your company beginning to control your Facebook account?

Employers are joining the social media bandwagon and employees are being encouraged to engage with their company through social media. Do you think your employer has the right to claim your online activities? What's your take?

Suddenly an email appears in my Outlook Express from HR, asking me to login to my Facebook account at a certain time, and share a particular status update message on my personal account. Yes, my otherwise conservative company has allowed access to social media for an hour today, so all employees can get this FB viral started.

I wonder if this is the beginning of my Facebook account being controlled by my company. I had just recently been reading about this debate online, but now it was happening right here – in my face!

Jeanne Meister, co-founder of human resources research firm Future Workplace and co-author of the book, The 2020 Workplace says, companies like Dell, Intel, Unisys, GAP, Pepsi are not just training employees how to use social media, but how to represent the company to their friends, "What should you not be sharing? What can you share in a responsible way that helps the company build its brand in the market place?" says Meister. 

And that brings us to the more moot question – should companies be asking employees to promote their products or brands online? I wonder if that will soon be part of an employee's KRA? And should it?

With employers getting on to the social media bandwagon in a big way – and employees being encouraged to engage with their company through social media, it is a matter of time before companies start drawing out the guidelines, on what employees should have on their own personal social media.

Of course your company does not/ will not have access to your account – I remain hopeful on that! But yes, it may soon be directing you on the kind of activities you should be doing on your account. 

So do you think your employer has the right to claim your online activities? What's your take?

Does working late, mean working hard?

Working late = working hard. That's the corporate world mantra. The accepted norm. The ladder to success. I beg to differ.

Come in an hour early and leave office at the designated hour. What are you? An under-achiever who never stretches. Yet come in office on time and leave an hour later. Know what that makes you? An achiever - always stretching beyond the call of duty. Even better, come in an hour late to office and sit two hours late everyday, and man looks like office would not sustain a day without you!

If you have your maths right, you can clearly see all employees are putting in the same number of hours; but see how warped perceptions can be. Actually perceptions are bound to be warped - but does no one every do the obvious maths to this?? Am surprised - amazed - shocked - irritated and frustrated, at the sheer illogicality of it all.

The later you work into the night the better you are seems to be the accepted work norm everywhere. So of all three, guess who gets the praise and the promotion and all the pats on the back - no prizes on guessing that.

But it's a lesson i refuse to learn! And must lodge my protest with all reason.

Why? Oh why, are we forgetting the natural rhythms of nature - early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, weathy and wise! You can do so much more when you come in early and are brimming with ideas and energy to take on the world. Working late into the night you are only brimming with ire and irritation!

So well...whose ready to join me in my support of the early comers?

A full time Job - Meetings at the Workplace

Just living an everyday life at the workplace. Meetings and mess ups! They happen all the time.

Messy meetings, meetings messed up, messups for which meetings are called, messups due to which meetings are cancelled! Then of course there are meetings missed, meetings that miss the point, meetings with people missing, meetings you dare not miss, meetings you'd happily miss!

So do these meetings help? Perhaps in some ways... there are meetings that make the day go faster, meetings that fill the time, meetings that give the mirage of workloads of work happening! So meetings in all...can be a full time job for some.

Meetings can lend creativity - heard of those brainstorming sessions for meetings...often all storm and no brain - but nevertheless! Creativity is unleashed in more ways - innovative doodles, interesting scribbles, asides and snides. And of course blogs like this sprouting up!

(Also read my more serious blog on Career Guidance - tips on interviews, resume writing, career building and more.

Loves and hates - at the workplace!

No imagination today! So thought will just share a quick list of things I love at my workplace and what I hate too...Top ten kinds!.


Umm what do i love about my company...


# The flexi hours - so I can trot in and out as per my other other worldly needs!

# The coffee vending machine - that helps me wake up - once i get into office!

# Uninterrupted net connection - that keeps me looking busy :)

# My freedom to write what i please - including this blog!

# Bean bags near bay windows! Especially on a rainy day:)


And that which i don't much care for...

# Coming in on a saturday for sure!

# Meetings that move in circles.

# No ice-cream in the canteen:(

# Getting stuck with a non-ac cab!

# And well...the increment is never enough! Think I should job search?

So those are my 10 - tell me yours!

(Also read my more serious blog on Career Guidance - tips on interviews, resume writing, career building and more)

Early years at the workplace

Life at the workplace has been a lot of fun, and hard work too. When it is work you enjoy - you love the days of non-stop work. I remember the times we finished work at 12 midnight, and then went for a night stay, at a friend who lived near office, as getting back home at that unearthly hour was not possible. This was the time before radio taxis existed and offices did not offer pick/drop facility! But the excitement of working nights in the office and the high it gave us, is something one always remembers.

One remembers the major faux pas made too, during the initial years. Having just got my Marketing degree under my arm, and being a snoot for all sales related stuff, i was interviewing with a company as a fresher. They had both the Marketing and the Sales director on the interview board. During the course of conversation I was asked by the Director sales, why i preferred marketing over sales, while he quoted himself as having had a great time in his sales tenure, I promptly replied, 'Oh! I think sales is a brainless job'. Well...! I still remember his rather stunned look at my nonchalant dismissal!


Anyway...yes I did get the job, and to keep the record straight I must add he was the most aristocratic and wonderful Sales Director I have ever met till date!

(Also read my blog on Career Guidance - tips on interviews, resume writing, career building and more.)