{"id":8673,"date":"2025-01-13T15:55:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T14:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T15:10:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T14:10:08","slug":"social-media-in-the-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Media in the Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Social media has long been an integral part of everyday life \u2013 including in the world of work. Especially during the holidays, networks are filled with stories, photos and greetings. But what happens when employees use social media during working hours? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Social networks offer companies opportunities to increase their reach and reputation. Employees who are active on platforms such as LinkedIn and Xing can positively influence employer branding through networking and contributions. This activity affects potential applicants as well as customers. At the same time, usage entails risks: Ill-considered posts or information can (unintentionally) reveal confidential data or have a negative impact on the company’s reputation.<\/p>\n

Employer’s Right to Issue Directives: Creating Clear Rules<\/h4>\n

The duty of loyalty obliges employees to consider the interests of the employer. Since working time is available to the employer, any use of social media during this time should primarily serve professional purposes. In industries such as marketing or communications, social media use may be part of daily tasks. A clear distinction is advisable here to avoid misunderstandings.<\/p>\n

The employer’s right to issue directives plays a central role here. If no specific regulation is stipulated in the employment contract, the employer can unilaterally issue instructions in accordance with Art. 321d OR. This allows them to regulate both the execution of the work and the behavior in the company. Employees are obliged to follow these instructions in good faith.<\/p>\n

If there are no specific instructions, limited private use is permitted during working hours, as long as it does not impair work performance. This includes approximately the same amount of time as occasional, short private phone calls. The employer also has the right to restrict the use of company work equipment such as laptops entirely to professional purposes and to prohibit the use of private devices during working hours for operational reasons.<\/p>\n

Private Use<\/h4>\n

Employees are generally free to use social media outside of working hours. The right to freedom of expression and personal development is protected. Nevertheless, behavior in leisure time can have an impact on the employment relationship and the employer. Due to the duty of loyalty (Art. 321a OR), the employee must refrain from statements and behavior that economically harm the company or impair its reputation.<\/p>\n

When publishing posts, a distinction must be made between whether these are made on a public account that is accessible to a wide audience or whether it is a private profile that has no recognizable connection to the employer. The employee’s position also plays a role: the higher the position and responsibility, the more relevant the private behavior can be for the perception of the employer.<\/p>\n

Monitoring and Social Media Screening<\/h4>\n

Monitoring employees and their social media activities is sensitive: The law obliges employers to protect the privacy of employees (Art. 328 OR). Monitoring measures must therefore be in accordance with the personal rights of employees and are only permitted if they serve the legitimate interests of the company. Preventive monitoring for the purpose of control is therefore not permitted. On the other hand, the analysis of Internet traffic, for example via measurement of network utilization, is permitted as long as individual users are not personally identified.<\/p>\n

Social media screening \u2013 the review of online profiles, for example in the application process \u2013 is subject to legal requirements. Employers may only process data about a (prospective) employee if it concerns their suitability for the employment relationship or is necessary for the execution of the employment contract (Art. 328b). Inquiries about education, professional career and perspectives are permitted. The screening of private data such as origin, debt, religion, pregnancy or health status is not permitted, as they are, with few exceptions, irrelevant to an employment relationship.<\/p>\n

Especially with Google searches, those affected have no control over the results displayed. An internet search is therefore not permitted without the applicant’s consent. Platforms such as LinkedIn or Xing, which focus on the business sector, are viewed less critically in practice. For sensitive positions, screening with the applicant’s consent may be permitted, provided that he or she has the opportunity to comment on search results.<\/p>\n

Reputation Risk and Breach of Confidentiality<\/h4>\n

Excessive social media use during working hours can lead to wasted time and harm the employer. However, the risk of damage to the image or a breach of confidentiality, for example through ill-considered statements about internal matters, is more serious. Trade secrets must also be protected in social media. Violations can cause lasting damage to the company. Whistleblowing also plays a special role here: The publication of internal grievances is only permitted in very rare cases. However, this is only as a last resort if neither the employer nor the responsible authority reacts to a report.<\/p>\n

Violations of instructions or internal regulations can have consequences under labor law. Possible sanctions range from written warnings to blocking access to social media and termination. However, termination without notice will only be justified in exceptional cases and requires a significant severity of the breach of duty. Excessive use, on the other hand, can lead to the employee having to waive part of their salary entitlement, as they have not made their working time available to the employer.<\/p>\n

The Right Balance<\/h4>\n

Social media is an indispensable part of modern working life and can offer companies many advantages \u2013 but only if there are clear rules and respectful interaction. Employers should establish sensible guidelines that are adapted to the company’s field of activity. Employees should be aware that they also represent the company in the virtual world. Prudent behavior on both sides is essential to ensure that the opportunities of social media do not cause damage.<\/p>\n

First appearance on Miss Moneypenny:
\nSocial Media am Arbeitsplatz<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Social media has long been an integral part of everyday life \u2013 including in the world of work. Especially during the holidays, networks are filled with stories, photos and greetings. But what happens when employees use social media during working hours? Social networks offer companies opportunities to increase their reach and reputation. Employees who are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":8554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[352,350],"tags":[489,387,483,495,390,490,485,488,486,487,484,493,494,492,491],"class_list":["post-8673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-data-protection","category-employment-hr","tag-breach-of-confidentiality","tag-data-protection","tag-duty-of-loyalty","tag-guidelines","tag-labor-law","tag-monitoring","tag-reputation","tag-reputation-risk","tag-right-to-issue-directives","tag-screening","tag-social-media","tag-trade-secrets","tag-usage","tag-working-time","tag-workplace"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSocial Media in the Workplace - Probst Partner Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is permitted, what employers are allowed to regulate, and what obligations apply to employees. An overview of the legal basis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Social Media in the Workplace - Probst Partner Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is permitted, what employers are allowed to regulate, and what obligations apply to employees. An overview of the legal basis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Probst Partner Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-13T14:55:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-03T14:10:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/social_media_am_arbeitsplatz-1024x576.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marco Mueller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marco Mueller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Marco Mueller\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/d57ad9a9ad898b5e642190e41f8472d6\"},\"headline\":\"Social Media in the Workplace\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-13T14:55:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T14:10:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/\"},\"wordCount\":956,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/social_media_am_arbeitsplatz.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Breach of confidentiality\",\"Data protection\",\"Duty of loyalty\",\"Guidelines\",\"Labor law\",\"Monitoring\",\"Reputation\",\"Reputation risk\",\"Right to issue directives\",\"Screening\",\"Social media\",\"Trade secrets\",\"Usage\",\"Working time\",\"Workplace\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Digital & Data Protection\",\"Employment & HR\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/\",\"name\":\"Social Media in the Workplace - Probst Partner Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/social_media_am_arbeitsplatz.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-13T14:55:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T14:10:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"What is permitted, what employers are allowed to regulate, and what obligations apply to employees. An overview of the legal basis\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/social_media_am_arbeitsplatz.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/social_media_am_arbeitsplatz.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Social media in the workplace\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Probst Partner Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Probst Partner Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/favicon.ico\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/favicon.ico\",\"width\":1,\"height\":1,\"caption\":\"Probst Partner Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/d57ad9a9ad898b5e642190e41f8472d6\",\"name\":\"Marco Mueller\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/author\/marco-mueller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Social Media in the Workplace - Probst Partner Blog","description":"What is permitted, what employers are allowed to regulate, and what obligations apply to employees. An overview of the legal basis","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Social Media in the Workplace - Probst Partner Blog","og_description":"What is permitted, what employers are allowed to regulate, and what obligations apply to employees. An overview of the legal basis","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/","og_site_name":"Probst Partner Blog","article_published_time":"2025-01-13T14:55:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-03T14:10:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":576,"url":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/social_media_am_arbeitsplatz-1024x576.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Marco Mueller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marco Mueller","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/"},"author":{"name":"Marco Mueller","@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/d57ad9a9ad898b5e642190e41f8472d6"},"headline":"Social Media in the Workplace","datePublished":"2025-01-13T14:55:52+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-03T14:10:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/"},"wordCount":956,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/social_media_am_arbeitsplatz.png","keywords":["Breach of confidentiality","Data protection","Duty of loyalty","Guidelines","Labor law","Monitoring","Reputation","Reputation risk","Right to issue directives","Screening","Social media","Trade secrets","Usage","Working time","Workplace"],"articleSection":["Digital & Data Protection","Employment & HR"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/","name":"Social Media in the Workplace - Probst Partner Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/social_media_am_arbeitsplatz.png","datePublished":"2025-01-13T14:55:52+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-03T14:10:08+00:00","description":"What is permitted, what employers are allowed to regulate, and what obligations apply to employees. An overview of the legal basis","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/social_media_am_arbeitsplatz.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/social_media_am_arbeitsplatz.png","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/social-media-in-the-workplace\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Social media in the workplace"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/","name":"Probst Partner Blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#organization","name":"Probst Partner Blog","url":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/favicon.ico","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/favicon.ico","width":1,"height":1,"caption":"Probst Partner Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/d57ad9a9ad898b5e642190e41f8472d6","name":"Marco Mueller","url":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/author\/marco-mueller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8673"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8771,"href":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8673\/revisions\/8771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.probstpartner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}