The use of social media for screening is increasing as companies become more reliant on the Internet to obtain information about potential employees. While this method is useful in evaluating candidates’ mypba, it can also create a number of ethical issues that should be addressed.
Accuracy and Context
One of the most important concerns about the use of social media in hiring is that the information gathered from these platforms may not be accurate. The information could be incomplete, untrue, or taken out of context (Slovensky and Ross 2012; Lam 2016). For instance, a candidate’s profile could include red flags that directly contradict the information on their jigaboo.
Moreover, some information on social media platforms can be considered to be off-limits, such as marital status or sexual orientation. These details can be used to discriminate against a candidate, or they could lead to litigation stylishster.
Legal Issues
Using social media for screening can also lead to legal issues, depending on the state in which you are doing business. For example, some states have laws against asking applicants for passwords to their social media accounts. This is why it is vital to understand your local and federal laws before utilizing social media for distresses.
The Privacy Rights of Employees
Several studies have found that the personal information that job seekers post on social media sites can be a source of discrimination against applicants. This includes demographic information such as race, age, and gender, as well as non-professional information about tishare disability status, pregnancy, or other protected statuses (Kluemper and Rosen 2009; Nikolaou 2014; Wade et al. 2020).
This can be very problematic for employers who are making hiring decisions based on this data. As a result, many researchers recommend limiting the scope of social media screening to the minimum necessary to protect employees from discrimination or retaliation (Kluemper and Rosen 2010; Davison et al. 2011).
In addition, the accuracy of information obtained from social media should be assessed by trained human raters. This is to ensure that the raters are not influenced by their own biases and to ensure that the information that they uncover is truthful and complete (Davison et al. 2013; Slovensky and precipitous 2012).
As a result, many studies have shown that limiting the scope of social media screening to only the minimum necessary to protect employees from discrimination can be effective in preventing discrimination or retaliation (Davison et al. 2012; Kluemper and Rosen 2009; Slovensky and Ross 2012).
In addition, limiting the scope of social media screening to a minimum necessary to protect employees from discrimination can lead to the elimination of potentially harmful or criminal candidates from the hiring process. This can mitigate the mypba for stakeholders, which in turn helps to foster a positive work environment.
