S01E09 - Social Networks, Strikes and Protests (Part Two)

Welcome to the Wild Side, a podcast that discusses the world of modern employee relations ten minutes at a time. This is the second of two episodes dealing with the impact of social networks on employee relations today. In this episode, host Alan Wild discusses collective action organized on social networks, the new world of employee voice, and employer listening. Alan is the Global Affairs Director of the HR Policy Association, the leading voice of chief human resources offices today.

As we increasingly live our lives outside of work on social networks, employees have an additional way to raise individual and collective concerns and to organize protests that can damage not only the delivery of products and services but company reputation and employee engagement. And, as trade unions cease to have a monopoly of voice or may not be the preferred or trusted vehicle for employee views, we need a new set of rules for this new world of employee relations. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Unpacking the 2017, 2018, and 2019 #GoogleWalkout events. [1:33]
• Why is socially-driven collective action significant? [2:51]
• Which country’s workers were the first to embrace the use of social networks to organize collective action? [3:35]
• When employee voice is more important than ever, why are today’s employees not joining trade unions? [5:14]
• Examples of how social protests and employee pressure are expanding beyond traditional confines. [6:46]
• Pop up protests are cheap to organize, short-lived, and fun for employees. [7:22] 
• Not all viral social media posts are deliberate attempts to cause disruption but without an Employee Relations Specialist, a company may be unaware of potential tarnish. [8:35]
• The listening and responding deficit. [10:20]