Excerpt From: Human Resource Executive Online: Hammering Employers Online

By: Tom Starner

Unions, attorneys are others are using the Internet more and more to pressure employers, increase unionization efforts, trash-talk companies and seek class-action plaintiffs. HR executives can do some damage control, however, by developing effective methods of employee communication and other strategies.

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As for hostile anonymous sites started by employees with axes to grind, employment attorney Robin Bond says the Web has given them an outlet.

"Just like steamy magazines might keep people from acting out their perversions, blogs can be a safety valve for disgruntled employees," says Bond, an attorney whose Wayne, Pa.-based employment-law firm, Transition Strategies, represents employees. "When the corporate communications gurus muzzle what employees can and can't say, and to whom, people feel disempowered -- and angry. Anonymous blogging provides the outlet."

Bond recommends employers deploy mechanisms and policies for employees to deal with their frustrations constructively while they are clocked in, such as employee-assistance programs, ombudsmen, e-mail and Internet-use policies, codes of conduct, anonymous complaint systems, etc.

To read the full article visit www.hreonline.com