Work Whatsapp Groups

There's a new trend taking over the world. Alright. It's not new. It's been around for quite some time now, but it just keeps building steam. And quite frankly it's something that annoys me greatly. What is that trend? Work Whatsapp groups.

Whatsapp is a great tool, but...

Whatsapp is a great tool for communicating. Even more so when you are in a group. You can send out an important message quickly to lots of people, which does save you time and effort. But when it comes to work groups, it can quickly turn into a nightmare.

Being on a work group means that you can be contacted by work at any given time of day. Thus, you are always on call. This is all good and well for the office, but it is in no way fair towards the employees.

What does the law say?

Let's look at the law. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA) stipulates that an employee is entitled to a daily rest period of 12 consecutive hours and a weekly rest period of 36 consecutive hours, which must include a Sunday, unless otherwise agreed. You sending a Whatsapp message after working hours interrupts this consecutive rest period. Unless a matter is truly urgent, it can wait until the next day at the office. Just because you're afraid you'll forget if you don't send the message now, or because it's more convenient for you to send the message after hours does not make it an emergency situation and that communication is against the stipulations of the BCEA.

Some other problems can occur.

Often the group gets abused by people sharing jokes or opinions that are not work related. Some might find this funny, but the majority will probably find it annoying.

Food for thought: If you are on Whatsapp all day reacting to messages and jokes, how productive with your work are you really? What exactly is the quality of your work?

Plus the group can cause increased stress and pressure on the employee, which is completely unnecessary.

Create a Whatsapp group policy!

It is highly unlikely that people are going to stop using Whatsapp groups for work related matters. It is an efficient way of communicating, but that does not mean that there should be no rules governing the group. Every work place that makes use of Whatsapp groups must have a policy in place that governs the group. This will ensure that the group is truly efficient, and that the use of the group upsets no one.

Policy guidelines:

Charl Vollgraaff in his "Employers Guide to Whatsapp Groups in the Workplace" gave the following guidelines for creating such a policy:

1. State whether or not it is a requirement to be on the group for operational reasons and if you are not then it will be at your own peril should lawful instructions so communicated not be adhered to.

2. Post your message in one single text message, don’t post every word or sentence in a new message.

3. Limit the number of participants to those whom the group is targeted at and keep the participants to directly affected employees.

4. Do not have one-on-one conversations in the group. Switch to private messages.

5. Do not post in any group between 19:00 and 07:00 unless it is an all-out emergency.

6. If a message asks for a positive response like “who is available”, don’t reply in the negative. Only say if you are able to attend to what is required.

7. If someone asks a question and you don’t know the answer don’t respond with “I don’t know”. Just wait for someone who knows the answer to reply. If no answer is forthcoming it would be polite to make inquiries with those close by so as to assist the requestor.

8. Don’t send “thank you” messages unless circumstances dictate it appropriate. If you feel gratitude towards someone – tell them in a private message. The group does not exist to inflate your employer’s opinion of you or of your colleague.

9. No arguing and heated opinions will be allowed. Any post that includes racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, ethnically divisive remarks or any other topic that offends and disturbs the fragile tranquility of the workplace should be avoided. This may lead to your employer taking disciplinary action against you.

10. Never use a group to berate someone else or air grievances. If you have an issue address it with the relevant person or management directly.

11. Don’t send data-insensitive messages.

12. Employees should avoid discussing details of a sensitive crisis, which the employer is still resolving.

13. “Mute” is allowed on your WhatsApp group after hours (unless you’re part of an emergency response group).

14. Ask yourself these 3 questions before you post: Is this relevant, necessary, a good time to post?

Lastly...

These are guidelines, but I do strongly advise that you create your own work group policy as soon as possible! Create it so that it fits your workplace and remember to act fairly towards your employees.