As the nation’s economy continues to mend, employers are beginning to ad workers to their payrolls. The Great Recession began in 2007; for some the malaise over America has lasted five years. It is no longer uncommon to find hardworking, well educated workers that have been out of market for greater than two years. Sensing the desperation of millions of Americans, some employers are demanding unprecedented concessions of privacy from employees. An increasing number of employers are demanding that potential employees hand over the password to their Facebook accounts. Employees, desperate for income, often feel that they have no choice but to relinquish control of their personal social media accounts. And this trend seems to be growing as employers are anxious to protect their brands from the inappropriate, off-clock shenanigans of employees. Some employees are even reporting interviewers that demand to be signed into social media accounts, during the interview process. While it is understandable that employers would want to be sure that they were hiring sober and responsible individuals, the tactic of raiding the photo albums, time line and record of status updates, for new hires is raising concerns. Some are asking, if we really want to enter a world in which, off duty hours and activity can be monitored by employers. In a political climate in which we are constantly reminded of the threat of government intrusion, it seems ironic that we find ourselves confronting a prospect that is worse than BIG BROTHER! The evolution of these trends forces us to ponder if the job application of the future, will have a space requiring potential hires to disclose twitter, Facebook, and google+ passwords and handles.

This leaves us wondering if YOU, Worthy Readers, would hand over access to your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Tumbler accounts, in order to land a job?