Social networks still frowned upon in offices
by Celine Roque
The pressure to boost productivity in order to keep afloat, a lack of patience in understanding social networks, or just a general distrust of these tools – whatever the reasons, 54% of CIOs said their companies completely prohibit the use of social networks. This is according to a survey commissioned by Robert Half Technology of over 1,400 large US companies.
Almost a fifth (19%) allowed it but solely for business purposes – it’s unclear how compliance was monitored. A shade less (16%) did not mind granting permission for limited personal use, while a tenth of the respondents had even more relaxed rules, permitting personal social network usage inside the office without restrictions.
“Using social networking sites may divert employees’ attention away from more pressing priorities, so it’s understandable that some companies limit access,” said Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology. “For some professions, however, these sites can be leveraged as effective business tools, which may be why about one in five companies allows their use for work-related purposes.”
With this prevailing corporate mindset, employees were advised to keep themselves informed about company policies, get familiar with privacy settings of frequented sites, be aware of time spent networking while at the office (if allowed), avoid negative remarks about the company and maintain a “clean” profile. You never know who could be watching.
I wonder how effective these regulations are, though. For one, there are lots of mobile Facebook and Twitter clients. If these sites are blocked via the office network, employees can always use their phones to access them. Laptops with 3G capability are also becoming popular. In addition, the study was silent on whether blocking applied to all employees or if certain departments or upper managers were given some level of access. Breaking down the responses per industry might’ve yielded interesting results.
Social networks can be a boon for business if employees are trained on how to use them properly. Without access to social networks, undisciplined workers will still probably find other ways to waste their time and avoid actual work.
Thought...
