21.03.2023

Just three in 10 Britons would support social media checks as part of the job application process

Around two-thirds of Britons (64%) say they would support employers routinely checking applicants’ social media profiles for jobs working with children, according to new research carried out by international online research data and analytics technology group, YouGov.

However, just three in 10 (32%) would support social media checks becoming a standard part of the job application process more generally, with 53% opposed.

Opinions shift when considering specific roles, with six in 10 (64%) in support of social media checks for jobs working with vulnerable people and half (54%) in support for roles with the emergency services.

Just a third of Britons would willingly hand over social media profiles to land a job

Four in 10 Britons (39%) would be unwilling to show their social media profiles to a prospective employer as a condition of getting the job, including 22% who say they’d be “very” unwilling to do so.

A third (34%), however, would willingly do so, with younger people more likely than their elders to be ok with future bosses seeing what they’re up to online.

Of those who say they have used leading social media platforms in the last month, 39% would be willing to share their profiles with 45% unwilling.

Half of those aged 18 to 24 (50%) are willing to let prospective employers see their social media profiles, compared to between 25% and 40% of other age groups. They are also the group most likely to have social media accounts to share – just 4% say they don’t have any, compared to 33% of those aged 55 and over.

A significant minority of young people have been asked to disclose social media accounts during job applications

Just 5% of Britons say prospective employers have asked them to share their social media profiles, although young people are considerably more likely to have been asked – 16% of 18 to 24-year-olds have faced that request, compared to between 1% and 7% of other age groups.

A similar proportion of Britons (4%) say they have been asked to disclose social media profiles by someone they were working for at the time.

Among working people, the findings are similar, with 6% saying someone they worked for at the time had asked them to share their accounts and 5% saying prospective employers had.

Britons admit to being turned down for jobs and promotions due to social media posts

One in six people aged between 18 and 24 (16%) say they’ve been turned down for a job or promotion at least once because of posts they’ve made on social media platforms.

They are among 4% of Britons overall who have been rejected because of their behaviour online.

Overall, 5% of Britons say they’ve been disciplined in the workplace in part or entirely because of posts they’ve made on social media, rising to 14% of 18 to 24-year-olds.

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