Can Employers Discipline Staff for Social Media Posts on Work-Life Balance Frustrations?

Disciplinary Actions for Social Media Posts

Is it possible to take disciplinary actions against an employee based on his or her post on a general subject on a social media platform like Facebook or LinkedIn?

"Nowadays, work from home is treated as 24x7 office hours. It's like everyone is working from home and saving a lot of time commuting. This should allow everyone to put in more time and effort regardless of working days or weekends. Where is this world heading to? It seems employees don't have families or personal lives. Frustrated with the Covid lifestyle. How long will this continue?"

This was a post by one of my friends on LinkedIn. He received an email from his manager stating that this is a serious disciplinary issue.

As long as any such posting on social media does not tarnish the company's image or cause any monetary loss, I don't believe it will come within the purview of disciplinary action.

Everybody has freedom of speech, and in the absence of the above rider, his views can be regarded as given in a personal capacity and not as an employee.

Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar
HR and Employee Relations Consultant