After Uber, Grab – in the past and that is a very long past of the Internet it was Yahoo that could face such backlash due to its messenger services – now its Linkedin that has joined the ‘sexual unleashing’ of animal behaviour in a social-professional workplace!
But Linkedin was dragged into this mad behaviour against its will, indeed.
A lawsuit against SunTrust shows how employers face unique problems when it comes to using the business web platform, says Bloomberg.
If Tinder is for dating. Facebook is for friends. LinkedIn is for … well, it depends whom you ask. – Bloomberg
But it remains a professional networking platform and is meant to connect with colleagues, clients, prospective bosses and a lot more that you cannot get and do on Facebook or Instagram.
But being human, some people can behave badly on the site.
But they forget that others are ready to take action in order to keep Linkedin for the professionals, and a place where you can’t harass either your prospective employee or friends.
Remember folks, Linkedin is not where the wife or the husband will go to ask for alimony or give ‘Talak Tiga’ (Muslim way of completely divorcing the wife).
And there is this lawsuit in the US, Los Angeles precisely, where a mid-level financial industry professional identified only as Jane Doe alleged that a recruitment conversation on LinkedIn took a turn for the inappropriate when she received sexual messages from a banker.
The banker used his his corporate account and have been trying to recruit her.
Awe…One of the messages included a photograph of his genitals!
Women have long complained of unsavory conduct on LinkedIn, but in the California state court complaint (filed by the law firm of celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos), Doe argues that an employer is responsible for employee behavior on the platform.
LinkedIn is an extension of the workplace, similar to going into the office or attending a corporate networking event, the theory of the case goes. If you wouldn’t flirt on a conference call, don’t do it on LinkedIn. If you do, you and your company could pay the price.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent retention and supervision.
“We take allegations of this nature very seriously, do not condone harassing conduct and take appropriate actions as warranted,” a spokesman for SunTrust said before the lawsuit was filed. “Once we were made aware of the allegations, we began an investigation that is ongoing.”
LinkedIn encourages members to report harassment by flagging conversations as “inappropriate or offensive.” The company said it investigates incidents and takes “appropriate action,” which can include being barred from the platform. In addition to reporting them, members can also block harassers.
Suzi Owen, a LinkedIn spokeswoman, said sexual messaging such as that described in the complaint “is prohibited and violates our user agreement, and we investigate and take action when violations are identified.”
Despite billing itself as a professional network, unprofessional behavior isn’t a new complaint by users of LinkedIn.
“I’ve had my fair share of weird messages on LinkedIn, so my standard practice is not to accept invites from anyone (mostly men) that I do not know or are not affiliated with my industry,” said a woman who works for a technology firm and requested anonymity for professional reasons.
“In short, [LinkedIn] is not much more professional than any other social network site, in that people are messy and bring their messes everywhere.”