TikTok becomes the new water cooler, as workers vent about their jobs online

Over a third of workers overall (and about half of Gen Zers) admit to posting about their job or employer negatively on social media, according to a recent survey from Owl Labs including responses from over 2,000 full-time U.S. workers.

About 20% have posted content negatively related to their job on their personal social channels like X, Instagram and Facebook, and 15% posted on their personal TikTok accounts.

Some 13% have posted anonymously on sites like Glassdoor. And 15% admit to recording conversations or meetings with their employer.

“Hybrid work is not only here, but probably here to stay long term. And those in-person social moments don’t happen as much anymore, so I think employees are looking towards social platforms as a way to speak out,” said Owl Labs CEO Frank Weishaupt.

Federal law allows coworkers to organize online as a form of protected concerted activity — but it must be a part of efforts to gain better working conditions. They can discuss pay, benefits and other complaints over working conditions in online forums. 

However — “Such activity is not protected if you say things about your employer that are egregiously offensive or knowingly and deliberately false, or if you publicly disparage your employer’s products or services without relating your complaints to any labor controversy,” according to a National Labor Relations Board webpage.

Being authentic online

With the rise of social media and younger generations’ pursuit to be more authentic online, handling staff’s social media use outside work is coming up far more often today for HR and legal teams, said Jill Kahn Marshall, partner and employment attorney.

“I think almost every company that’s large enough to have an employee handbook typically now includes some reference to a policy surrounding employee activity on social media, because it’s obviously so ubiquitous, and it can certainly end up having impacts in the workplace,” Kahn Marshall said. But there isn’t really a one-size-fits-all, standard policy for companies to adopt, she said. 

“The main objective of policies is typically to limit employees’ abilities to disparage their employer on social media, to make public false statements about their employer on social media, and then any social media posts will also be subject to scrutiny under the employer’s anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies as well,” she said.

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