Michael Braun's Blog

I’m somewhat torn. At what point is an opinion no longer an opinion? At what point, without regard to the realm of legalities, is something one writes appropriate/not appropriate? At what point in time does one’s personal actions affect one’s work? At what point in time does it become a company’s right to censor its emloyees’ personal comments? At what point in time can a connection be drawn between a person’s name and a real person? At what point in time should personal information affect the workplace?

Let me propose some scenarios:

Before the scenarios, let’s say that the person involved in each has taken pains to not mention his place of work in any public place.

After each scenario, let’s say that a co-worker finds the content by searching for information on that person out of curiosity. The co-worker finds the information disturbing and now feels uncomfortable working with the person. Let’s further say that the person has ask yourself A) can this affect how the employee is able to do his job? and B) is it appropriate for a company to take action to remove the content from the website?

1. A person posts sexually explicit photographs of himself on his personal website.
2. A person mentions using illegal drugs in his blog.
3. A person expresses extreme opinions on politics.
4. A person expresses extreme opinions on religion.
5. A person writes about having difficulty working with another employee and mentions that employee by first name.
6. A person writes about having difficulty working with another employee but does not mention that employee by name.
7. A person writes a complaint about his place of work, citing internal events.
8. A person writes a complaint about his place of work, citing external events.

Obviously there is a reason for this speculation, but beyond that, where should the line be drawn? How much impact should a company be allowed to have on its employees personal lives? Where does work stop being work and personal life stop being personal?

I can understand the idea of not wanting your personal life to have a detrimental impact on your work life. But, as the saying goes, if you go looking for trouble, you’re going to find it. If a person seeks information on him or herself, they will most certainly end up finding someone who doesn’t like them. But it’s a two way street, in that, if one writes something that one views could be controversial, shouldn’t one be prepared to deal with the consequences? On the other hand, if one has made every attempt to keep work and home separate, where can the line be drawn?

In the end, I suspect that I will find another forum for expressing certain types of discontent. This may solve most problems here. But, at the same time, how much trouble should I have to go thru such that I can express personal opinions and accept other people’s opinions about them without an offical chopping block hanging over my head? Is it enough to never mention place of employment in a forum, or do I need to go further and remove any identifying information?

And what about bloggers who do not use their real names? They remain protected doubly, in that no one can locate them to find out who they are, and they cannot be found via a search on their real name. I’ve never been about that kind of deception, viewing my own opinions as generally well-supported and willing to accept criticism of them, but I am starting to see the appeal.

Now, to you, the reader. In this case, I would ask you to risk the potential of having someone else see your name and your opinions. I seek your opinion on these matters. Please, unlike all the times you have ignored my pleas for comments, tell me what you think. I would really appreciate it.