How many times have you written a status on Facebook and just before hitting the "update" button you make a last minute choice to backspace the entire thing and write something else? I know I do that all the time. Mainly, for one reason. Potential employers have begun to abuse Facebook and determine whether or not to hire you based on what is on your Facebook profile. This concept makes me so angry. Who I am with my friends has nothing to do with what kind of worker I would be. Maybe I want to share a photo I find hilarious, but I can't share it out of fear that some future employer may see it. At one time, we had the ability to make our profiles completely hidden from non-friends, and we do still have that option, however, with the recent changes if I post a picture, everyone who is friends with one of my friends, can see it (if my friend decides to like it, comment, or share it). I am almost positive that everyone is connected in some way. There are likely thousands of people who don't know me, but they know at least one of my friends. This makes it so thousands of people that you don't know, can see various things you've posted on YOUR Facebook page.
These employers will find what they can about you from Facebook and ultimately that will decide if you get hired or not. Just because I may find something funny that this employer finds offensive, does not mean I will be a bad worker. We should have the freedom to put whatever we want on our Facebook page without worrying about it possibly ruining our chances of a good job.
Facebook is not the only thing that has been squashed by employers. What about those people who choose to express themselves via tattoos and piercings? I think it is absolutely pathetic that when I have a job interview, I have to wear a long sleeve shirt to hide my tattoos. Once hired, I will expose my arms for what they really are, luckily, the law is on our side in saying an employer cannot fire you for such a thing. But they can sure as hell not hire you for having tattoos. Sure, they won't come out and say that (because that would be illegal, as it is discrimination), but they will just say that you "aren't right for the position." Despite you having extensive experience for that particular job.
I have my tongue pierced, and I have had it since I was 17 (I am now 24). If I had a dime for every employer who said they'd hire me if I agreed to remove it, I'd be rich! I won't lie, I've turned down job offers in the past because I refused to take it out. I refuse to be completely controlled by an employer. I really wish someone could explain to me how having a pierced tongue makes me a bad worker. I doubt there is a good/bad workers with tongue piercing ratio. The reason why employers discriminate about this is because society can't handle those who express themselves through these avenues. I guess I can only hope that someday it will change. I admit, it has changed significantly since I was a teenager, but there is still a lot of room for more improvement.
There are so many different things that make it extremely hard to find a decent job. Things that we can never prove actually prevented us from getting hired. Things such as gender, beauty, and weight. I ask that you take the time to read this post on my WordPress account. I chose to add it there as it is lengthy. It is a paper I wrote for my Social Psychology class last year. It is about weight based discrimination in the work force. The facts will utterly shock you, and that is something I can promise. You can find this post at: http://dreamars.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/the-truth-about-weight-based-dscrimination/
Yes, I know it is long, but trust me when I say it is worth reading. It thoroughly disgusts me when I walk into a store and look around at all of the employees and realize quickly that they are all breathtakingly beautiful. I wish someone could explain to me why pretty people make better workers than average looking people. What is difficult about this is that everyone knows this takes place in the workforce, yet we can never prove it. Therefore, we can never get the justice we deserve. We can never hold such employers accountable for their disgusting forms of discrimination.
Please read through it and comment on here with your thoughts about workplace discrimination. It is something that needs to be stopped, sadly I don't know how to stop it. Maybe one of you have an idea! Let's discuss :)
-Drea
