Workplace Misconduct Signals Surge 34% as Risk Shifts to Professional Networks

Fama Technologies' 2025 report finds online behavior on professional networks poses growing threat to employers

Mar. 30, 2026 at 2:07pm

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A high-end, photorealistic studio still-life photograph featuring a stack of professional networking profiles and social media accounts arranged elegantly on a clean, monochromatic background, symbolizing the shift of workplace misconduct risks from the office to online professional networks.As workplace misconduct increasingly originates from online professional networks, employers must expand their risk management strategies to identify and mitigate these emerging behavioral threats.Los Angeles Today

Fama Technologies, a leader in social media screening, released its 2025 State of Misconduct at Work report, which found that online behavior in professional networks is posing significant workplace risk. The report revealed a 34% year-over-year increase in misconduct risks surfaced during screenings, with top issues including online harassment, intolerance, and sexually explicit misconduct.

Why it matters

The findings underscore how workplace misconduct is increasingly originating outside the office, with professional networks and online behavior posing new risks for employers around safety, compliance, and brand reputation. This requires HR and talent leaders to expand their risk management strategies beyond traditional background checks.

The details

The 2025 report, which benchmarked nine major global sectors, found that 6.45% or 1 in 15 screenings surfaced misconduct risks. Top behavior risks included online harassment (37.2%), intolerance (23.9%), and sexually explicit misconduct (17.8%). The report noted that the Media and Entertainment sector had the highest misconduct rate at 33.6%, followed by Technology (16.7%) and Consumer Services (15.4%).

  • Fama Technologies released its 2025 State of Misconduct at Work report on March 30, 2026.

The players

Fama Technologies

A global leader in social media screening that helps employers identify candidate or employee behaviors that create risk for their organizations.

Ben Mones

CEO and Founder of Fama Technologies.

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What they’re saying

“Workplace misconduct rarely starts in the office anymore. Our 2025 data shows that online behaviors are posing real-world risks, and those risks are increasingly appearing on professional networks and are impacting employers.”

— Ben Mones, CEO and Founder

What’s next

The report outlines three strategic imperatives for HR leaders to modernize risk management in 2026: expand screening sources beyond traditional background checks to capture online behavior, move beyond one-time pre-employment screenings to periodic rescreening throughout the employee lifecycle, and prioritize compliance with FCRA and EEOC guidelines.

The takeaway

This report highlights the growing challenge employers face in identifying and mitigating workplace misconduct risks that originate from online behavior, particularly on professional networks. Proactive, lifecycle-based risk management strategies will be critical for HR leaders to protect their people, workplaces, and business reputations.