Grab your laptops guys it’s break time. It used to be tea breaks or fag breaks but how times have changed.
Instead of trying in vain to stop staff from social networking at work, some bosses may decide to offer ten minute Facebook breaks to deal with the problem.
The change of heart comes in the light of recent research which suggests that Britain’s economy is suffering because of workers spending too much time on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace Flickr, Twitter and Bebo.
You’ve got to laugh haven’t you? Social networking is addictive and it’s also extremely popular so perhaps by giving in, at least partly, by allowing workers their fix, it will satisfy the addiction and allow workers to get on with their jobs.
The alternative of course is that in order to enforce any ban on social networking at work, employers may have to sack staff. However, if everyone is doing it then bosses are quickly going to lose their workforce. It’s a catch 22.
“They feel some staff are failing to do the job they’re paid for because they’re spending too much time on such websites,” said Giles Ridgeway a consultant at Employment Law Advisory Service (ELAS) who also said Facebook is a “curse”.
“Some have said it appears to be a habit similar to smokers needing their fix of nicotine.”
Of course updating our status or modifying our profiles isn’t a “legal entitlement” at work as Ridgeway is quick to point out so it’s really up to individual bosses to decide how they want to deal with it.
Apparently since the beginning of the year there have been a growing number of firms seeking advice on what to do about what has been described as the “new media menace”.
“In days past, staff would have gathered around the office tea trolley for a quick chat. Now, they can talk to friends on the other side of the globe from their desks,” says Ridgeway.
“But to remain able to do so means committing to doing the job they’re employed for. If they don’t and bosses take exception to what they believe to be an abuse, they could find themselves out of work and companies would be well within their rights to take such action.”
Don’t we live in interesting times?
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In my point of view the main fact about the social media such as facebook in which we can do the marketing in a very easy way without feeling bored cause this is the one of the spot available on internet on which we visit to free our mind from tensions!
Are you kidding? Social Media is the fastest way to increase a companies profits with FREE advertising. I’m not sure what’s going on over there in the UK but in the US there are companies like Oracle for example that are mandating their employees get on facebook. Think about the advertising power of ALL of their employees out there waving the Oracle flag on the Internet.
Maybe the solution for you guys is to train employees on how to be effective with Social Media.
Harsh conservative companies look disdainfully on new media as yet another distraction from their people getting work done. Stats demonstrate that companies that allow free and unrestrained access to facebook spend an average of 42 minutes on it a day. Total that up with the hour for lunch and the 30 minutes of coffee breaks and you have a significant problem.
To your point, facebook is exactly like the “extra” time taken by smokers. Smokers perform work 33 minutes less a day than a non-smoker.
More liberal companies (like Oracle) are taking a calculated risk that facebooking at work will provide employees with more enjoyment, build better networking connections, provide for a more informed employee base and increase employee retention. I think you can make a decent argument on either side of this issue.
Go where your target audiences are – Are your members, donors, and potential recruits using popular online social networks like Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter? These social networks account for the top 10 most trafficked sites in the United States. I mean Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or a niche social network like Eons