A recent anonymous post on the r/AustralianTeachers Reddit page has raised the alarm, suggesting it’s now common for school executive to hit up teachers on their personal social media accounts, such as Instagram and Facebook, only to ‘lurk’ in the background monitoring proceedings once they’ve been accepted.
“…Apparently a few years back it became a standard thing, and some staff thought it was to be inclusive and show interest in the school community,” the teacher wrote.
“But these same people don’t even speak to us at school. There’s no socialisation, low staff morale in general so it doesn’t add up.
“What I’ve noticed is: they never like anything, not posts or stories. They do like to lurk and maybe they don’t realise but we can see if they are viewing our stories but not engaging. Ever…”
According to the educator, this is entirely unjustified behaviour.
“I hide my stories from them as I think it’s wrong to be treating us this way. Feigning interest but really with a secret agenda.
“Apparently they screenshot things sometimes and inform the principal and deputy. It’s unprofessional and disrespectful…” they concluded.
Dr Sandy Noakes, Director of Academic Program at Western Sydney University School of Law, and her university colleague Dr Sarah Hook, a senior lecturer in law, have previously investigated employers’ regulation of teachers’ social media use.
The pair’s research drew a big question mark over whether many social media policies thrust upon teachers are in fact reasonable and in accordance with the law.
In the case of school leadership deliberately ‘friending’ teaching staff, Noakes says it’s unlikely teachers would legally need to accept, unless it was a term in their employment contract.
“Part of the issue [is] that because employees think that employers can do these things, they then allow them to, or they curb their behaviour on social media, because they’re concerned about that surveillance,” Noakes tells EducationHQ.
“So, the fear of being disciplined is enough to then shape what they do and don’t do on social media, which in itself is a form of control.
“I think what our research advocates for is that employees being more aware of their rights, and employers being aware of what they can and can’t do, because that’s probably the best protection,” she adds.
Hook says part of the problem is that because so many of us are good friends with our colleagues, we do tend to let them into our personal life and befriend them on social media – often without thinking of the potential implications.
“Not then realising that, oh if I took a ‘mental health day’ and went to the beach and post about it, maybe my work colleague might tell my boss – that kind of thing – which has been an issue for a long time.
“[And] then if you’re in an anti-vaxx group or something like that, it does become a bit of an issue.”
Beyond cases of unfair dismissal, there are tactics that employers can use to ‘discipline’ staff that can go unseen and unrecognised by law, Hook flags.
Facebook groups for teachers further distort the lines between professional and personal life, Hook adds.
Yet even though teachers are widely seen to be role models in the community, she says this “doesn’t mean that they should have people spying on them 24/7”.
“They are allowed to live. They’re allowed to be people. They’re allowed to have a drink at their street Christmas party without someone photographing them and getting that back to their employer.”
Under the Workplace Surveillance Act, employers have the ability to monitor employee’s online activity on any work device, be that a phone or computer provided by the school, Hook notes.
“They do have to notify them that they’re doing that, though. You can’t just surveil someone without their consent – and notifying them through an email is, under the Act, seen as consent.”
But as Noakes points out, when it comes to teachers’ use of personal devices, the Act doesn’t apply.
“It only applies to work-related technology…
“So, if the employee is not using work-related technology as they might be at home, if they’re using their phone or their personal device et cetera to access social media, the employer, bizarrely, does not [have to notify them of the fact they’re being monitored].”
For those with school leadership privy to their social media accounts, Hook says concern over how their activity might influence their career prospects and working life can weigh heavily.
The expert warns that beyond cases of unfair dismissal, there are indeed tactics that employers can use to ‘discipline’ staff that can go unseen and unrecognised by law.
“You know, they get looked over for promotion, they ‘don’t [get their leave approved], they get unrealistic expectations set on them, that kind of thing. It’s really kind of unseen discrimination.”
Unless an employer’s behaviour is deemed outright bullying, there’s nothing really the law can do in such cases, Hook says.
“I think that’s probably playing on employees’ minds a bit more than just being unfairly dismissed, like, ‘what’s going to happen to me at work? Am I going to get that terrible Year 9 class nobody wants?’”
Back to the Reddit thread in question.
Responding to ‘PureCornsilk’, one educator reported they had received a verbal and written warning after correcting ‘egregious anti-vaxx information’ online.
“[I] was instructed to stop using social media at all by one principal. I was mentally rolling my eyes the whole time because I knew I was going to have to move on from that school anyway as that was one of the more sensible interactions I had there…”
The educator claimed school leadership spying on teachers via social media was “definitely a thing that happens”.
“It’s bullshit, it’s unprofessional, it’s probably illegal or unenforceable, but that doesn’t stop some school leaders doing it,” they posted.
As a former labour lawyer who represented people in unfair dismissal applications, Noakes has a word of caution for teachers: be very careful about what you say online, be that in a restricted staff Whatsapp chat or otherwise.
You can only trust your colleagues so far, she warns.
“Employment law disputes are often like family law disputes. Everyone’s happy until they’re not. And then they’re really, really not.
“And so if you’re in a work-related WhatsApp group, and you’re sort of bitching away about your boss, and everybody’s doing it until something happens and you’re on the outer.
“And then the boss becomes aware that you’ve said all of these terrible things about them…”
Noakes says a recent article in the media canvassed how there’s been a number of unfair dismissal cases that have erupted out of this exact situation: a group of employees turn on a colleague and effectively ‘out’ them.
“[The question is] whether that can be used as evidence in unfair dismissal hearings, because increasingly, it is.”
“Even when you’ve got that sort of trust amongst work colleagues, it only exists until something goes wrong. And it all can go very, very wrong.”
Hook is quick to emphasise the fragility of collegial trust.
“Even if your best friend is your work colleague, they’re still your work colleague. They still have those duties of loyalty and fidelity to their employer. And, you know, things might fall out later down the line.”
She also advises teachers to draw a stronger line between which of their social media accounts are work-aligned and which are for family.
“Because there also might be things you don’t want family seeing as well.
“And then having anything that you deem a bit more private in spaces where those people aren’t there, even if that might mean moving to another social media platform, having an encrypted WhatsApp chat, those kind of things…” she advises.
Even then there’s no guarantee that the tool you’re using is completely safe, the expert adds.
“There’s always the worry that somebody in the background can always get access, whether through lawful means or not.”
On a practical level, Noakes says if teachers are sent a friend request from a school leader and they don’t want to accept, then simply ignore it.
“And also be mindful that there’d be other ways that that person could then possibly get that information.”
