Work used to happen in offices, hallways, and meeting rooms. Today, it happens across Slack threads, Zoom windows, shared drives, private messages, and public social feeds. The digital workplace meanders between in-person and online and reshapes how misconduct appears and how employers must respond.
Online conduct can attract all the same liabilities to an employer as in-person misconduct. The words and actions of harassment and discrimination now frequently initially emerge from the online space.
The challenge remains the exponential, irreversible impact of online activity. An offhand comment on social media can go viral in minutes, pulling an employer’s reputation into the fallout. A harassing remark in a private chat can create a hostile work environment even if no one ever shares a physical space. Canadian employment law hasn’t changed its principles, but the context continues to evolve. Misconduct that harms the employer’s reputation, undermines trust, damages working relationships, or interferes with job performance can still justify discipline or dismissal, even when it happens online or off duty.
What does harassment look like in the remote workplace? In virtual settings, disrespect may appear as mocking emojis, exclusion from chats, derailing comments in meetings, or persistent messaging outside work hours. These interactions still fall under an employer’s duty to maintain a safe workplace.
To stay ahead of these complexities, employers should consider:
- Off-duty online behaviour can still impact workplace reputation.
- The inclusion of off-hours online misconduct continues to expand. It doesn’t matter if someone wrote a nasty post at midnight on “personal time” on their “personal device” if the comment still intersects with the workplace people and platforms.
- Remote harassment happens through DMs, chats, and virtual meetings, whether public or private.
- Employers need clear digital conduct and social media policies.
Modern investigations must include screenshots, timestamps, and chat logs. There are plenty of apps and software out there to help with this, as well as forensic specialists to dig deep when required. For the vast majority of cases, HR can simply employ the off-the-shelf software and/or take screenshot to save the image for further investigation.
Like any other evidence of misconduct, the documented digital activity must be put before an employee for response before taking disciplinary action.
Digital workplaces require digital-age policies that provide flexibility and clarity to keep up with the evolution of technology.
If your policies haven’t been updated to reflect how your team actually works today, SpringLaw can help you modernize them and navigate any digital-age issues that arise along the way. Connect with us anytime.
Lisa Stam
Lisa Stam is the founder of SpringLaw and a leading employment lawyer focused on technology, digital work, and modern workplace design. She advises employers on remote work policy, compliance, and workforce strategy, helping teams balance flexibility with legal clarity in an increasingly digital environment.
