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Social networking sites
The issue
Social networking websites are becoming ever more popular. How can employers manage the use of such sites within the workplace?
The responses
The large number and range of contributions shows just how varied responses are to the issue of staff making personal use of the internet during working hours.
Some contributors see no difference in these terms between social networking sites and other websites. Where staff are regularly accessing social networking (or other) sites during their working hours, rather than just during breaks, it might be deemed necessary to deny access to the sites altogether. Of course, this would be unfair on those who do restrict their activities to breaks. One contributor states that their psychological contract has been badly damaged by such a ban. Another points out that time lost to personal internet use is more than made up by the extra hours worked by happy staff.
One possible approach is to establish a clear IT policy stating the company position on the use of company facilities. However, a policy of banning all use of networking sites could put off some potential employees who value them. A more measured approach could be to get IT to monitor staff internet use, making clear in the staff hand book that this is done.
Perhaps it is better to look on social networking sites as of potential benefit to business rather than a problem. Are they not part of an evolving set of internet tools? To some staff, and businesses, they may be sources of valuable information, concerning, for example, potential new employees who have entries on social networking sites. One contributor points out that some networking sites are specifically 'business' sites, not just purely social.
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