Are We Still Clocked in Outside Work: The Intrusion of The Private Self

Whether you've experienced it first hand, or gotten word through the grape vine, we've all heard tales of someone's online presence over social media jeopardize their job prospects or status. These tales encompass stories from receiving job rejection letters to all-out dismissal from those already employed. But just how impactful should our image on social media, platforms specifically geared to personal and individualistic expression, influence our employer's perception of our abilities?

In debates such as these, I refer back to a memory in my first semester of college, and how in Sociology 101 my professor began with a simple quote ''In all of our lives, there's exists a public self, and equivalently a private one.'' Bypassing the teases of Sociology being the subject of studying social nuances we naturally learn, this has always stuck with me. So ultimately what's the answer? Where is the line in the sand of our careers drawn? From where I stand, it should be one drawn far from our employer's gaze.

To start off, I've been fortunate to never experience this issue, but again, many of us have at least known someone who has. For a vast majority of us, platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are ones where we show ourselves outside the realm of work, and the life we live that portrays who we truly are. A life that is untethered to the formalities of office environments and professional courtesies. This peak into our private lives are ones while shared publicly, are meant to be shared amongst friends and family. We use them to show our travels, companions and the things that capture our passions. Everything and anything that shows we are more than our titles and salaries. So when employers utilize these platforms to vet prospective employees or evaluate current ones, it violates the essential dissection between work and play. It undermines the résumé and achievements of employees, along with the trust between the two.

Of course employers offering salaried positions are entitled to vet future/current workers, after all the health of the company is on line. Though this vetting process must have limits. It must ensure we aren't expected to live up to the impossible expectation of compromising on who we are in and out of the office. There must be always a balance. Just as the phrase ''work/life'' balance is so routinely uttered as a desire from prospective employees. Beyond the demands of our jobs, we're all entitled to live a life separate from our professional obligations and duties. It can be even argued that in doing so, we enable ourselves to work more proficiently when we throw ourselves back into our work come Monday morning.

Second, with our résumés being the most requested form used to evaluate employees, this should be the center of attention for employers. While it often is, our documented lives on social media can often deter from its importance. Granted there are exceptions to this rule. After all, the last people you'd want to share office space with are confessed white supremacists, supporters of racism/misogyny or any other malicious beliefs. In lieu of such undesirable qualities, however, our accomplishments should speak for themselves. Hopefully this is self-explanatory, as I've yet to meet someone with tattoos or enjoys the occasional night out on the town impede their professional capabilities. So let our former positions and our interviews speak for themselves, as to ensure the survival of that private self that we all depend on.

Third, and this one is perhaps the most basic plea, yet by no means least important: respect who we are outside of work. If it's routine weekend bar crawls, posts of body positivity including a fair play of skin or just a list of self-absorbed selfies. These posts often contain ingredients of who we're made of outside the office walls. Understanding this perspective is essential to building the foundation of trust that allows employer-employee relations to thrive. We present a different form of ourselves within our work environments, and one completely different on the outside. This dichotomy of identity isn't one of mischief or deception, but a vital aspect of work-life balance that we all need to maintain a level head. We draw from either half whenever needed as a means to guarantee the survival of the counterpart. To protect our personal lives and all the things we cherish within them, so that our work may never enter our bedrooms.

So that's my perspective as to just how much weight our lives via social media should impact our employment status. Although companies should always have the right to have a basic understanding of who they're hiring, our personal lives, wherever they may be displayed, must remain just that: personal. No giving weight on how often we go out, no whispers of doubt over how we look, no debate on the choices we've made. Period.