Of all the topics I blog about, there is one I consistently do not blog about — work. In one sense this seems peculiar. The amount of my life, especially my waking life, that is involved with work is significant. Yet I will not refer nor comment on it on the blog.
That is nothing either for nor against my workplace. This post is saying nothing positive nor negative about my workplace. From the blog you should infer nothing at all about the quality or character of my workplace. I am using this blog to discuss the question of ethics as it has to do with blogging about work.
I am taking a class for my master’s degree on communication and leadership ethics. The module we are working on now deals with organizational ethics. It is giving me a lot of things to reflect upon about my workplace and how it handles ethical situations. But, ethically, I cannot write or share them here. Anything I said about my workplace could be seen by others as a representation of my employer, and I do not have an official capacity at work to represent my employer in the media.
This is true of many/most employers and their employees. When you become employed you are no longer free to say whatever you want when you want, no matter how good it might be. You agree to give up the right of certain expressions during the term of your employment, and if you don’t want to make that agreement, you are allowed to seek employment elsewhere.
It is actually a practical reciprocal relationship. It always existed. But the advent of social media made violations of it more obvious. People have always been free to speak what they wanted to — and face the consequences of their actions.
I am sure I intended to say more, without saying anything about my employer, but I do not remember what I was intending. So I’ll stop here, and maybe continue another day when the additional thoughts return to me.
At The Rainbow 