In statistics which hardly surprise, given the number of problems employees have caused for themselves on Facebook and Twitter recently, employees are cracking down on the use of social networks in the workplace.
ScanSafe’s latest analysis of over a billion web sites discovered that over three-quarters of companies now block social networking sites — up 20% in the last six months.
As well as the supposed benefit in productivity from blocking non-work sites that can sap employee time (though a blanket ban may be counter-productive and a restricted hours policy might be better for morale) there’s also the reduced risk of malware creeping into a company’s systems, as well as saved bandwidth.
“Social networking sites can expose businesses to malware and if not used for business purposes can be a drain on productivity and bandwidth,” said ScanSafe’s director of product management, Spencer Parker. “Given the option, companies are increasingly taking a sterner approach to the sites that their employees are allowed to access. I imagine before long, social networking will be up there with pornography in terms of categories blocked.”
It’s a fine balancing act. Some companies are using social networks for business purposes, but where is the line drawn?
Does a blanket ban actually sap employee productivity? Might it be better to allow the use of Facebook et al during lunchtime rather than not at all?
What do you think? Facebook at work, or not?
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