#CostaRica 🇨🇷 #BDS_Article: My Employee is an Influencer – Now What?

Many clients have been asking us: what is the best way to handle situations involving employees who identify as influencers?

In Costa Rica and worldwide, the number of social media platforms continues to grow, driven by increasingly advanced technologies, artificial intelligence, or algorithms. Consequently, the number of people who use these platforms not only to consume content but also to create it—whether for activism, entertainment, or other purposes—is on the rise. Some of these individuals will attain the coveted title of “influencers”: people whose online presence and follower count are so significant that they can turn this into a primary or even sole source of income.

But is the influencer status truly so desirable? According to some studies and publications that have circulated recently, more and more children respond with “influencer,” “YouTuber,” or similar when asked what they want to be when they grow up. Whether these studies have a scientific basis or not, I cannot say, but based on current trends, it does not seem hard to believe.

Those who do not achieve this dream or who change their minds and careers over time will still need to keep their jobs and balance their professional lives with their online personas until stardom comes calling. Perhaps that fashion trend channel, travel blog, that pet with so much personality, or those entertaining dance moves will take off. But until then: “Here is your job description, and we’ll see you on Monday at 8:00 a.m. for the weekly team meeting.”

This situation introduces a novel issue into the traditional workplace. While some employees—perhaps the majority—arrive at work to fulfill their duties without sharing more than necessary with their colleagues, others are inclined to seize every opportunity to produce content, post it on their social media, and increase their impressions.

Some issues are easy to identify and correct. “Is the use of mobile phones prohibited in the workplace?” Violation of procedures. “Was the employee recording a video based on the latest TikTok trend during working hours?” Abandonment of duties. When it comes to these misconducts, there are well-known and effective recommendations for correcting these behaviors.

However, other issues may be more complex to resolve. For instance, a company that sells a specific product might hit the “dislike” button when one of its employees is sponsored by a competitor on social media. “Does this individual identify themselves on social media as an employee of the company?” “Do they have a public or highly visible profile such that people associate them with the company they work for?” These are just some of the questions an employer should be assessing.

Another common situation arises when confidential and sensitive information belonging to the employer is visible in the background of a post. If we had a like for every case like this that our clients have brought to us… we wouldn’t be influencers yet, but we’d certainly have quite a few.

Cases can get even more complicated. At the beginning of 2024, the Law for the Protection of Whistleblowers and Witnesses of Acts of Corruption Against Labor Retaliation came into effect, introducing a series of safeguards for employees who report, even publicly, potential acts of corruption. The law not only prohibits any labor retaliation against whistleblowers or witnesses, but also provides them with a special protection regime against dismissal.

Instead of remaining anonymous, an employee might leverage their social platform to report alleged acts of corruption, whether true or not, and take advantage of the protection the law offers. In this regard, it should be noted that this law already requires all employers to have a channel for receiving and addressing complaints. Does your company have one in place?

Returning to our topic, it may be tempting to generalize—based on prejudice as well—such as “this young generation is like that” or that only people of a certain gender engage in these behaviors. In reality, we are facing a widespread phenomenon that transcends age, gender, and socioeconomic status.

Employers who ignore the growing wave of social media—and the increasingly complex technologies that fuel it—risk encountering novel problems without readily available solutions. Now it is crucial to start paying attention to potential influencers in the workplace.

Marco Arias Arguedas

Partner at BDS Asesores