Part of an Office Whatsapp Group? Here is How You Can Maintain Your Ethics on the Messaging App Next time you have something to share on your official Whatsapp group – Take a moment, think and then click the send button.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
You can stay away from Twitter, Facebook and even Instagram – but you cannot stay away from Whatsapp. The messaging platform has revolutionised the way all of us communicate, both on the personal and on the professional end.
No wonder the long email trails have been replaced by Whatsapp messages and group meetings are done more conveniently on the messaging application. And trust us when we say a lot can happen with your Whatsapp office group. In fact, some people have gone to lose their jobs with one wrong message on the group.
So, here are a few things to keep in mind before sharing anything and everything on your office Whatsapp groups:
The Forwards
While it may look cool to send a forwarded message every morning, there might be many participants in the group who might be averse to such forwards. These groups are created for facilitating easy communication for managers in their teams, therefore it becomes even more important to maintain the decorum.
"Generally some of the members spoil the motto of the group as they are tempted to share general stuff which has been created for a specific reason. They have to in turn realise the purpose of the group and contribute to that extent only," says Vijay Mansukhani, MD, Mirc Electronics.
Additionally, people believe everything received on the WhatsApp is true and which is why a lot of content creating and digital agencies, who want to promote certain things, are trying to take advantage of this and promoting whatever they feel like.
Therefore industry experts suggest one should be cautious and should do a proper check on these before broadcasting a forwarded message
Carefree Use of Smileys
Rahul Shah, CEO, Sumer Group feels we need to be done away with the obsession of using smileys. One may rather give a proper reply instead of using smileys.
Additionally, the groups generally comprise of both men and women participants and therefore it is imperative for any participant to respect each other and not to hurt the sentiments of any, especially the opposite gender.
"These days all companies with a certain number of the employee have to train their employees on the "Prevention of Sexual Harassment' module' (POSH). Any sexual or provocative comment, which might be unintentional, could be inviting troubles," he points out.
Sharing of Classified Information
Many times, instead of sharing an important excel sheet over an email, a lot of us prefer sharing it via Whatsapp. This habit is extremely unhealthy as in the process, it may compromise the confidentiality of the information.
"We have even observed that some of the classified information is getting shared on these platforms, which may actually bring corporates, executives and beneficiaries in trouble. People think that WhatsApp is safe and can communicate anything, they may be wrong," Sunu Mathew from Leap India shared.
So, next time you have something to share on your official Whatsapp group – Take a moment, think and then click the send button. And if you still goof up – delete for everyone is still an option (At least for few minutes!).
