Hello, everyone. This is Enta.
It's April already, isn't it?
It’s that time of year again when I scroll through my social media feed and see a steady stream of posts about new hires across various industries.
While major companies don't really do this much, small and medium-sized businesses are all competing to boast, "We hired this many employees this year!" lol
I honestly think it's a good thing that we've been able to hire people.
But there's one thing that's been on my mind for a while.
A company that shows its new hires' faces—isn't that a bit sketchy?That's what I think, lol
Existing employees and new hires have completely different levels of "risk tolerance"
I don't want you to get the wrong idea, but I can understand to a certain extent why current employees would show up.
They have gained some work experience, understand the risks involved, and can handle things on their own to a certain extent if something happens.
However,New employees aren't like that.
They’ve just entered the workforce and don’t yet have a real-world understanding of what the online world is like or what the real world is like.
Risk Levels of Social Media Use During College vs. After Entering the WorkforceThat's not right.
To use a civil engineering site as an analogy, it's like making someone with no experience stand on a slope without any safety training or a safety rope lol.
You wouldn't actually do that, would you?
It should be the same story online, too, but for some reason that part gets left out.
Three Risks of Showing Your Face
If I just say, “The internet is scary,” that doesn’t really get the point across, so here’s a specific example lol
① Being added to the databases of insurance and securities companies
Insurance and securities agents who come and go at the company regularly check the company's social media accounts.
"Oh, X people joined this company this year" → Compile a list → Sales efforts targeting new hires begin.
I'm not joking about this.
I signed up for that "trash insurance" when I was young, too, lol.
I bought this insurance policy after being told only the good things about it...
It wasn't until a few years later that I realized it was just a worthless insurance policy...
It can be especially hard to say no if you don't have much work experience.
② Coercive Peer Pressure
The notion that “appearing on the company’s official social media means you belong to that company” is enforced.
Even if you’re thinking, “This isn’t the career for me!” and considering a job change, you’ll continue to be seen online as the “face” of that company.
A situation where the person can't delete it even if they want to.
This is the kind of thing that really grows on you.
Well, you can request that it be deleted!
Especially if they're hiring a small number of people that year, it's a surefire way to pinpoint who it is, lol.
③ Risk of Privacy Breaches and Stalking
Their faces and company names will be published together.
Their place of employment, industry, and approximate age can be identified.
There have actually been cases where this has led to the identification of other social media accounts, addresses, and daily routines.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ “Compilation of Internet Trouble Cases” also urges people to be careful about posting photos of their faces, you know.
It makes you wonder, “Why is it that posting photos from the worksite on social media gets called out, but the company can post photos of people’s faces all it wants?”
The Pitfall of Thinking, “It’s Okay Because the Person Themselves Said So”
That's the part that bothers me the most.
"I checked with the person and got their consent, so there's no problem."
I often hear companies make that argument.
But think about it.
Can a new employee who has only been with the company for a few days say “No” to company policy?
To be honest, I can't really say, lol.
If you’re a working professional, you know all too well just how prevalent peer pressure and hierarchical relationships are in Japanese workplaces.
Bringing up the idea of “personal responsibility” is nothing more than an excuse for the company to take the easy way out.
The employer should have a responsibility to protect that child.
The Gap in Attitudes Between Japanese and Foreign Staff
As an aside, our technical interns and foreign workers actually take the stance of, “We want you to send us more and more!” lol
It seems they really want to show their parents overseas that they're working hard in Japan.
That's why we normally allow access to our website, blog, and YouTube channel from overseas.
A parent I visited at home before also told me, “I want you to let my son participate more and more. I want to see him working.”
On the other hand, Japanese new hires are definitely different.
There is a clear tendency to be reluctant to show one's face.
This is how Japanese people feel about the internetStrong crisis management skillsOne could look at it that way.
It's not all bad news, though.
However, I think the problem is that the company hasn't kept up with that level of sensitivity.
All in all, I understand the desire to highlight the fact that you were able to hire someone.
After all, recruitment is a matter of life and death for small and medium-sized businesses.
ButIs the company exploiting new employees just to satisfy its own need for self-aggrandizement?
Are you struggling to come up with posts for social media?
Well, I often struggle to come up with article ideas, so I totally get where you're coming from... lol
I think it's worth taking a moment to stop and think about this.
If you want them to stay with the company for a long time, shouldn't the first priority be to put systems in place to protect them?
In the construction industry, people are everything.
See you later.
