Views on Workplace Privacy Differ Amongst Career
Views on Workplace Privacy Differ Amongst Career Levels and Age Groups Recent survey by a leading career website polls current U.S. job seekers’ views on workplace privacy. New York, NY (May ____, 2012) An informal online survey on workplace privacy was conducted by LiveCareer.com, a leading career website, and gathered responses from over 6,600 users. The survey polled users about their attitudes towards various workplace privacy related issues, including employers’ access to job seekers’ Facebook pages and the monitoring of employees’ computer and phone usage. Overall, the responses gathered from users of the entry level, professional, and management career levels were similar, with no great disparity. However, respondents of the executive career level presented greatly differing views on the various workplace privacy related topics in comparison to that of the other career levels.
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Entry Level Professionals Managers A job seeker's Facebookpage should be reviewed before an offer is made
Executives
Over 46% of executives polled agreed that companies should review a job seeker’s identity and Facebook page before making a job offer compared to 33.7% of those in entry level positions, 25.2% in professional level positions, and 28.3% in management level positions. Moreover, 41.1% of executives agreed with the statement, “A company has the right to deny a job offer to a job seeker based on his/her online identity and Facebook page” whereas only 27.1% of entry levels, 22.3% of professionals, and 25.3% of managers agreed with the same statement. The survey also found that gender did not affect the majority of respondents’ answers: overall, there were no distinctly contrasting views between males and females when presented with questions about workplace privacy. However, gender did have a more noticeable effect when the entry level, professional, management, and executive career levels were examined individually. Male executives were 74% more likely to block employees’ access to certain sites, such as YouTube and Facebook, which may be a distraction at work than women executives. In addition, male executives were 26% more likely to agree with the statement, “A company has the right to deny an offer to a job seeker based on his/her online identity or Facebook page” than women executives. Interestingly, however, women amongst the entry level, professional, and management career levels were more likely to review a job seeker’s online identity and Facebook page before extending an offer than their male counterparts in the same respective career levels. Age also had a noticeable effect on how the respondents viewed the different issues of workplace privacy. Surprisingly, in comparison to respondents between the ages
of 22 and 70, those in the 18-21 age group were more favorable towards allowing companies to both review a job seeker’s Facebook profile prior to extending a job offer and have the right to fire an employee based on inappropriate comments he/she made on his/her Facebook page. In addition, the highest percentage of respondents who agreed that companies should monitor employees’ online identifies and Facebook pages belonged to those in the 18-21 age group at 27.8%. “It’s interesting to see how age affects a job seeker’s views on workplace privacy,” says James Freundlich, co-CEO of LiveCareer North America. “What is surprising about the survey results is some of the counter-intuitive data we’ve received, especially with regard to opinions on the limits of employers’ access to Facebook pages and personal online profiles. Other workplace privacy-related issues displayed a steadier trend in responses across the different age groups. For instance, the percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement, “A company should monitor its employees’ computer and phone usage,” gradually increased from 35.7% amongst the 18-21 age group to 46.1% amongst the 61-70 age group. A gradual increase in agreement was also seen across the age groups towards the statement, “A company should block its employees’ access to certain sites that may be a distraction at work,” and “A company should monitor its employees’ online identifies and Facebook pages.” Respondents over the age of 71, however, did not agree with such a block as readily as the other age groups. Only 31.6% of respondents over the age of 71 agreed that a company should block such distracting sites, which was a sharp dropoff from the next lowest percentage, which was 56.3% amongst the 18-21 age group. Livecareer.com welcomes a deeper review of the survey data and will make the data available to qualified researchers. A copy of the data can be requested from [email protected]. About LiveCareer LiveCareer, home of America's #1 resume builder, is a leading online career destination, helping people create job-winning resumes. LiveCareer has been named one of the Top 100 employment websites by Weddle and is featured in Weddle’s prestigious 2011/12 Guide to Employment Sites on the Internet. We have helped over 10 million registered users find career success through our cover letter and resume builder products, scientifically validated online career and education tests, salary resources, and a job search engine. Our products are designed with our users in mind; assisting them in every aspect of their careers and helping them make better career and educational decisions to improve their lives. For more information, visit the LiveCareer website at http://www.livecareer.com.
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Entry Level Professionals Managers A job seeker's Facebookpage should be reviewed before an offer is made
Executives
Over 46% of executives polled agreed that companies should review a job seeker’s identity and Facebook page before making a job offer compared to 33.7% of those in entry level positions, 25.2% in professional level positions, and 28.3% in management level positions. Moreover, 41.1% of executives agreed with the statement, “A company has the right to deny a job offer to a job seeker based on his/her online identity and Facebook page” whereas only 27.1% of entry levels, 22.3% of professionals, and 25.3% of managers agreed with the same statement. The survey also found that gender did not affect the majority of respondents’ answers: overall, there were no distinctly contrasting views between males and females when presented with questions about workplace privacy. However, gender did have a more noticeable effect when the entry level, professional, management, and executive career levels were examined individually. Male executives were 74% more likely to block employees’ access to certain sites, such as YouTube and Facebook, which may be a distraction at work than women executives. In addition, male executives were 26% more likely to agree with the statement, “A company has the right to deny an offer to a job seeker based on his/her online identity or Facebook page” than women executives. Interestingly, however, women amongst the entry level, professional, and management career levels were more likely to review a job seeker’s online identity and Facebook page before extending an offer than their male counterparts in the same respective career levels. Age also had a noticeable effect on how the respondents viewed the different issues of workplace privacy. Surprisingly, in comparison to respondents between the ages
of 22 and 70, those in the 18-21 age group were more favorable towards allowing companies to both review a job seeker’s Facebook profile prior to extending a job offer and have the right to fire an employee based on inappropriate comments he/she made on his/her Facebook page. In addition, the highest percentage of respondents who agreed that companies should monitor employees’ online identifies and Facebook pages belonged to those in the 18-21 age group at 27.8%. “It’s interesting to see how age affects a job seeker’s views on workplace privacy,” says James Freundlich, co-CEO of LiveCareer North America. “What is surprising about the survey results is some of the counter-intuitive data we’ve received, especially with regard to opinions on the limits of employers’ access to Facebook pages and personal online profiles. Other workplace privacy-related issues displayed a steadier trend in responses across the different age groups. For instance, the percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement, “A company should monitor its employees’ computer and phone usage,” gradually increased from 35.7% amongst the 18-21 age group to 46.1% amongst the 61-70 age group. A gradual increase in agreement was also seen across the age groups towards the statement, “A company should block its employees’ access to certain sites that may be a distraction at work,” and “A company should monitor its employees’ online identifies and Facebook pages.” Respondents over the age of 71, however, did not agree with such a block as readily as the other age groups. Only 31.6% of respondents over the age of 71 agreed that a company should block such distracting sites, which was a sharp dropoff from the next lowest percentage, which was 56.3% amongst the 18-21 age group. Livecareer.com welcomes a deeper review of the survey data and will make the data available to qualified researchers. A copy of the data can be requested from [email protected]. About LiveCareer LiveCareer, home of America's #1 resume builder, is a leading online career destination, helping people create job-winning resumes. LiveCareer has been named one of the Top 100 employment websites by Weddle and is featured in Weddle’s prestigious 2011/12 Guide to Employment Sites on the Internet. We have helped over 10 million registered users find career success through our cover letter and resume builder products, scientifically validated online career and education tests, salary resources, and a job search engine. Our products are designed with our users in mind; assisting them in every aspect of their careers and helping them make better career and educational decisions to improve their lives. For more information, visit the LiveCareer website at http://www.livecareer.com.
