In "day in the life" TikToks, employees share behind-the-scenes looks at office life. For companies, this could be an asset -- or a liability.
A day in the life of an employee working at skincare brand Fig.1 might start with a cold brew ordered to-go before they enjoy a sunny walk to the company's New York City office, where they'll review social posts, order a poke bowl for lunch, and sort through old inventory.

How do we know all this? Because last August, Fig.1's brand marketing manager Raquel Lutsky shared a highlight reel of her workday to her personal TikTok page, drawing in more than 145,000 views. But Lutsky's day-in-the-life dispatch is just one example of a prominent trend on the app, and one that has big brand-boosting potential for employers -- if that power is harnessed and the risks mitigated.

TikTok's usership is booming: a third of U.S. adults said they used the platform in 2023 compared to 21 percent in 2021, according to the Pew Research Center. And the platform's highly visual, often personal videos have spawned a series of diary-like and behind-the-scenes style content, including over 1.8 million posts with the hashtag #dayinthelife.

For many users, that day-in-the-life includes their work life -- the to-do list making, document scanning, and team lunches that happen in the office -- giving viewers a glimpse, however accurate, of what they do every day.

Charlotte Morgan, chief legal and administrative officer at inclusive lingerie brand Adore Me, has seen an "explosion" of employees sharing their work lives on TikTok and Instagram in recent years. But in the past year, she's noticed a particular increase in day-in-the-life videos.

"They talk about how cool it is, what they do on a day-to-day basis and meeting with their teams and doing fit sessions and touching the products," Morgan says. "From a people perspective, it's really very cool."

At the Dallas-based shopping platform LTK, co-founder and president Amber Venz Box wasn't surprised to see employees posting content about their workdays. She's a creator herself, built LTK for creators, and employs creators, so it comes with the territory. And she welcomes it.

"I really have made an effort over the years to make sure that our team feels cherished... If we're having an on-site, [ensuring] that we have great coffee there or we're going to refresh their profile pictures or we've got them some new swag," Venz Box says. "It's great to see that they're sharing those things because it means that it was meaningful to them."

This kind of behind-the-scenes look can land powerfully with customers, too, says Kimmy Scotti, co-founder and chairman at Fig.1, making them "really feel like they really know the people behind the brand."

But these videos also invite some complicated legal questions. Morgan has worried: how might Adore Me be liable for a problematic employee video shot in the office? Do other employees need to consent if they're being captured in the background of these "day in the life" videos?

While Morgan says the company hasn't yet faced any serious legal issues, she's had to discuss certain videos with employees. For instance, an employee once tagged Adore Me in a video that showed them drinking alcohol while out to lunch during the workday. "I sat down with the employee and explained that we don't drink at lunch," she says.

Legal concerns of all types can arise with this kind of content, says Leora Ghadoushi, an associate attorney at the labor and employment law firm Fisher Phillips. For instance, employees might accidentally record sensitive company or client information -- a problem Ghadoushi's seen arise recently with BeReal and TikTok.

Fisher Phillips advises employers to update their employee handbook annually and pay special attention to their social media policy, Ghadoushi says. What exactly that policy should look like will depend on each company's size, industry, and level of regulation -- but defining it can help companies avoid murky legal waters.

The most important thing is that the policy is clear, Venz Box says. For instance, LTK's social policy has specific guidelines around protecting confidential information, disclosing affiliations with LTK, showing respect, and upholding accuracy.

But veer too closely into micromanaging employees, and the content will seem contrived, Scotti adds: "You have to leave room for them to be human if you are going to create that intimacy, and then you have to live with those risks."

Social media policies can change, though -- and they should. Adore Me, for instance, has had a policy in place since about 2016, Morgan says, but it's since included additional and stronger guidelines around how employees disclose their affiliation with the company online, following crackdowns from the Federal Trade Association on social media advertising.

"It takes thoughtful guidance from leaders, from people teams, and from legal teams," Morgan says, "to really adapt policies that are versatile and that are flexible to meet employees' demands and needs, with protecting corporate interests."

'Help, My Employees Are Making TikToks on the Job.' Here's Why That Might Not Be a Bad Thing

The article discusses the trend of employees sharing 'day in the life' TikToks, showcasing their work routines, which can be beneficial for companies in boosting their brand but also poses legal risks. Companies like Fig.1, Adore Me, and LTK have seen employees sharing their work experiences on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. While this content can resonate with customers, it raises legal concerns such as privacy, sensitive information exposure, and the need for clear social media policies to avoid legal issues.