AUSTRALIAN FIRE FIGHTERS CAUGHT IN THE NET – CYBERLOAFING AND HOW HR MIGHT PRE-EMPT LEGAL ACTION Diane van den Broek
The case Fire fighters have a hell of a job. Literally! One minute they are relatively deskbound at the fire station and the next minute they are scaling a twenty-story inner-city apartment complex to extinguish a fire that has already destroyed half the building. Their day-to-day work involves intense and unpredictable bouts of physical exhaustion, smoke inhalation and danger; many fire fighters run the risk of heart attack. It’s certainly not a job for the faint hearted! The shift work also disrupts their usual body rhythms so that, for fire fighters, it is often a case of 10 days on 24-hour call, followed by five days off work. This might be a common shift pattern that unfolds until the next shift cycle is repeated.

With this work routine it’s hard to develop continuity in personal relationships with partners and children. But despite these shortcomings, most fire fighters love their job! On occasions, however, this dedication and commitment is questioned. For example, fire fighters lodged a grievance (through their trade union) to the Fair Work Commission in the Australian state of Victoria against the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board (MFESB). The grievance was raised when the MFESB ruled that fire fighters use of social media (including Facebook and Twitter) and non-business internet be restricted to one hour per day. This case, like many other similar cases, has been lodged with employment tribunals overseas and reflects growing discontent in how workers’ use of social media is being restricted in the workplace. These cases also highlight what role human resource policies and practices can play in managing and potentially averting the grievances that can develop around the use of social media in the workplace.

During this particular case the trade union provided evidence to the tribunal from fire fighters that, aside from a ban on pornographic and other inappropriate sites, personal internet use had not been time-restricted before this restriction was applied. Fire fighters also argued that the restriction was applied too broadly. For example, access to sites used for peer group support and health and well-being information that was greatly appreciated by fire fighters would also be denied. Further, the union argued that the restriction had other unintended consequences, arguing that community safety messages from the emergency control centre had also been blocked. This was a big concern given that fire fighters doing MFESB projects were required to seek management approval to maintain internet access beyond 60 minutes.

The fire fighters and their union also claimed that given the nature of their work, fire fighters often had to be ‘out the door in 90 seconds’, and as such would not have time to turn their computers off to comply with the restriction. Background to the case The use of social media in the workplace has placed considerable pressure on the relationship between firms and their employees. It has also has disrupted many of the boundaries between employees’ work lives and their nonwork lives However, despite the growing tensions over these work and non-work boundaries, many organisations fail to develop effective human resource policies that take into account the nature of the work undertaken in the firm, and the need for mutual agreement over policies that are proposed and subsequently implemented. As outlined in the chapter, while there are a number of areas where tensions arise, most social media policies are concerned with monitoring employees’ use of social media sites while at work via restrictions on employees’ private use of social media during work time. Because contemporary workplace technologies disrupt and reform the boundaries between public and private spheres, there is much disagreement between firms and their employees over what is considered ‘fair and reasonable’ use of social media sites while at work. On the one hand, there is recognition in employment tribunals that an employer is entitled to have a policy in place which makes clear that excessive use of social media by employees may have consequences. There is also recognition that employers have a protectable interest in regulating social media by prohibiting employees from engaging in certain behaviours via social media, including breaching confidentiality, harassment or disparagement of other employees or disparagement of the company, or posting comments that might be discriminatory on the basis of age, ethnicity, gender, disability or any other protected characteristic.

Why the need for social media policies in emergency services and fighting fires There is little doubt that most organisations have changed the way they communicate with their customers, their employees and the community around them. As contemporary firms rely on more complex technological arrangements that support strategic and operational activities, there is a greater need for workplace policies to regulate their use. For example, when electronic email was first introduced within organisations many firms introduced policies to regulate its use. However, policies are not the only way that firms can manage their employee’s use of social media. Organisational practices which consider the nature of the technology and the nature of employees work, as well as organisational culture are also important in how these issues play out. As such, in order for social media policy to build capacity for harmonious working environments, policies must be influenced by the nature of organisational structure, the nature of the work undertaken as well as established workplace cultures. For example, most emergency response organisations remain very hierarchical in structure, where command and control is often top-down in nature, including the flow of information from managers to employees. Also, as indicated above, fire fighters undertake a very stressful job. On the one hand, they deal with life threatening situations that require immense courage and resolve to endure what might be before them on any given day. Many situations may require debriefing to allow workers to cope with extreme physical and psychological stress. By contrast, in any given 24-hour shift there may be many hours of ‘down time’ where little activity is required. Though the number of incidents and the occupational demands may be low at times, the peak periods can lead to excessive physical and mental fatigue.

Emergency management agencies have also recognised the need to provide the public with fast, credible and useful information to avoid or minimise risk to the communities they serve. For example, fire officials often provide fire and life-safety advice to help citizens avoid home fires and reduce the threat of wildfire to homes, and explain how to prepare for any potential large-scale emergencies. In the past, emergency managers provided critical information during a crisis, which often reflected the government departments’ requirement of accountability and control of information. Through the use of these official channels to deliver critical safety information, however, social media has also been an important immediate word-of-mouth network, where information is shared freely and instantly. As such, social media’s networking potential is very helpful in providing important stakeholder information before during and after large-scale emergencies. For example, social media has allowed for community members to initiate emergency messaging helping organise relief efforts, reunite lost family members and communicate with vulnerable populations, such as senior citizens, the disabled and those with special needs. As such, the role of social media in organisations such as the Fire Brigade is extremely complex.
Questions
1 How could the Human Resources Department at the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board have averted this grievance reaching the Fair Work Commission? In your discussions, consider social media policies that favour specificity over generalities by tailoring any policy recommendations specific to the nature of the work at the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services.
2 What privacy issues should HR consider in developing and monitoring an effective social media policy, and how might HR best filter the availability of internet and social media sites?