For the second year in a row, Proskauer has conducted a global survey, “Social Media in the Workplace Around the World 2.0”, which addresses the use of social media in the work place. In 2012, Proskauer surveyed multinational businesses in 19 different countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, The Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong-Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States) in order to provide a worldwide perspective of workplace use of social media.  This survey not only shed light on notable developments in the use of social media in the workplace, but also helped identify consistent traits.

It may seem obvious to a lay person that employees should refrain from insulting their companies on social media due to the threat of termination for cause; however, there are contradictory legal principles that apply to the use of social media by employees which can be used both for and against employees (i.e. freedom of speech, right to privacy, data protection laws, an employer’s right to take disciplinary action, public insult offense, etc.) As a consequence, there is uncertainty as to whether an employer can use its employees’ postings made on social media websites to sanction them.