I've been looking at the Scottish Social Services Council's 23 Things Digital 'Thing 5' which is about Social Media. I watched the clip, read the guidance and articles and my own organisations policy and have been having a think about the ramifications of workers social media use in a social care context. This is something I do already talk about when inducting new staff and I have mentioned in a previous post some issues I have come across for folks not exercising judgement. Looking at the items I mentioned above has made me think a bit more about this.
I thought the video was really straightforward and easy to follow but something did jump out at me. (and also when looking at the guidance again) It was the bit about not being social media friends with a person only if you know them as a service user. This is a sentence I am really familiar with but there was something about the way it came across in the video that made me rewind and listen again.
So, if you are already a friend with someone and then they come and use the service that's fine-as long as you don't blur the professional and the personal.Hhmmm. A lot of boundaries guidance and support is needed here-I am going on many years experience and this is an issue I still come up against even IRL. It is still a really sticky area for some staff to navigate.
There is also a part of the SSSC full guidance on social media which says "Think carefully before accepting friend requests from people who use your service". I have always advised staff colleagues not to accept friends requests from service users and to report such a request to their line manager asap.
I know I wasn't asked to critique the SSSC's own guidance as such-only our organisations- but I don't think there is clear enough instruction. My opinion is this is not sufficient to support workers to make good decisions and protect the interests of themselves and people who use the service. In real life I have only heard of this type of situation infrequently, however I know that doesn't mean it is not more of an issue than my own experience.
In recall one time a new worker told me that they were aware that their service was already supporting someone they knew personaly and had a connection with on social media. I advised them to report this to their line manager so they could get support with it - be up front and honest so they could discuss a way round it. The supported person may also require support to understand the boundaries. It was likely in this instance that the worker could avoid providing a direct service to the person but I still think both they and the person who used the service needed support and guidance to manage their relationship and boundaries. I feel that to say 'there is nothing to say you cannot be friends on social media' is not enough guidance. I feel as a sector we should be advising workers that where this happens (and I understand it is less easy to avoid in small rural communities), then we need to follow that up with much clearer instruction. This could be along the lines of you must declare it and seek support and guidance from your line manager. The rest of the information from the council in all formats is really clear about the issues related to having social media contact with service users so I think this message is incongruent with the rest of the guidance.
One of the articles I had to read was about how to separate the personal and professional on social media. For me this article didn't really work in a social care context. There was discussion of various strategies such as 'open' , 'content' etc. but for me it didn't really hit on the type of issues that social care workers will generally come up against-to be honest some of it was just lost on me. I felt it was really for people working in corporate environments such as those providing financial services or something similar. Perhaps it worked for other folk with a better understanding than me. For me the strategy is simple-don't have social media, or if you do, be very strict about privacy, friends requests and just don't talk about work or the sector. It is about boundaries that look after yourself as much as anything else. Reading this back it sounds really righteous, illiberal and conservative, however I suppose I have never really got into social media that much-I don't use twitter, Facebook, instagram or anything like that and I don't have FOMO. A bit boring really.
Another article I read for this 'Thing' was entitled 'Social Workers cannot ignore the role of social media in the profession'. I am not a Social Worker so I can only reflect on the article which I felt made a relevant point about the benefits of online activity such as networking, communication and inclusiveness/I did feel it rather sensationalised the whole 'climate of fear around social media' aspect when mentioning the sanctions that some social workers have received for inappropriate online conduct. The linked case in this paragraph was about a social worker who posted online personal information about clients she was involved with. It was entirely appropriate that the worker was sanctioned. For responsible social workers such cases should be a reassurance rather than contributing to a climate of fear. I don't think anyone coming into the profession of social care or social work should believe they can publish what they like online about their work, role or people who use the service with impunity. I do however get the bit about the benefits for the profession, individual workers and service users. Absolutely it is the way of the world now and has become really important for mental and emotional well being during lockdown.
So, considering my own organisation's Social Media Policy I felt in re-reading it that it is fairly comprehensive-it defines what we mean by Social Media, clear instruction about not using company equipment to access social media, only use your own device to do so when off duty or on designated official breaks etc. All the basics are there and very clear. I also feel there is a clear link between the policy and the SSSC codes as it reminds the reader about these explicitly and discusses what is acceptable/unacceptable behaviour is online. It discusses the organisation's own social media use and clarifies that there are certain employees who have explicit permissions to access and update this as part of their role. It is explicit these staff are exceptions to some aspects of the policy and that they will welcome any ideas. materials etc. from colleagues about what could be posted online from the company. What I also appreciate is that the policy is upfront about the fact that organisation is monitoring activity on its devices and the number of ways they can and will do that. I think that is fair and transparent. Is there anything missing, anything I think we can do better in this policy? It does say you should not be social media friends with service users or their family/carers, but it does not say anything about what to do if you already are. I think this is an area that our policy should give instruction/guidance on. Also we need to be saying more in this policy (or perhaps producing a procedure)to support workers to safely assist service users to use Social Media where required. This can really help people who use the service to build a network, skills, confidence and grow their opportunities and chance to achieve. We need to make sure staff also have the skills and confidence to provide support in this area of everyday life too. SSSC 23 things Digital is a great place to start. I think it needs more publicity to do this.
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So reflecting on what I have read and viewed for this 'thing' I feel generally confident in the approach that I have within my role with staff and being able to provide them with information and guidance. What I feel I could do differently is reiterate where they already know someone who uses the service or who is being referred to it (or their family) to bring this it to the attention of their manager as soon as they can- to get both practical support and guidance on managing the situation. I can also bring this to the attention of the group responsible for the policy and ask them to consider addressing this within the document when they review it.
I can also promote the building of digital skills, knowledge and confidence of the workforce by talking about the benefits to individual staff and service users. I can do this in the first instance by promoting 23 Things Digital to staff and colleagues. If I am managing it anyone can.
Onwards and upwards.
