Should FaceBook be banned in the workplace?
http://www.dailyfix.co.uk/articles/6/1/Should-FaceBook-be-banned-in-the-workplace/Page1.html
By Chief Editor
Published on 30 Aug 2007
Employees should have access to social networking websites such as Facebook during office hours, the TUC has said.
But are office workers spending hours on social networking sites to the detriment of their work?
Employees should have access to social networking websites such as Facebook during office hours, the TUC has said.But are office workers spending hours on social networking sites to the detriment of their work?
Should employers ban social networking sites?
Employees should have access to social networking websites such as Facebook during office hours, the TUC has said.
But are office workers spending hours on social networking sites to the detriment of their work?
The TUC says it is unreasonable to try to stop staff from having a life outside work and suggests setting guidelines instead, while Employment Law Advisory Services (which provides advice for employers) said access should be for business use only.
Social networking sites have enjoyed a boom year, with memberships to sites such as Facebook, Bebo and mySpace growing into the millions.
Sites such as Facebook are predominantly used by people to keep in touch with friends, to tell them what they've been up to, arrange future events, post photos and so on.
The very nature of these sites can mean that an intended visit of 15 minutes to catch up with friends, can easily turn into hours of surfing, message sending and voyeurism.
A TUC spokeswoman speaking on Sky News today was saying that it's no different from making personal phone calls or staring out of the window.
But the risk that these social networking sites pose, which sets them apart from newspaper reading and daydreaming out of the window is that it's easy to make it look like you are working when you are in fact using a social networking site.
Whilst lunchtime and after work use is probably a facility that employers should allow, if only to foster good employer/employee relations, an increasing number of employers are banning social networking sites.
Reports say that Kent County Council, for instance, banned its 32,000 employees from using Facebook in a effort to reduce time-wasting.
On a personal note, I think these sites are a fantastic idea; and they really show the powerful nature of the internet. I just wonder if all the negative publicity at the moment comes from technologically uneducated people who don't like what they don't understand. If social networking sites are to be banned from the workplace then surely mobile phones should be in the firing line too...
But are office workers spending hours on social networking sites to the detriment of their work?
The TUC says it is unreasonable to try to stop staff from having a life outside work and suggests setting guidelines instead, while Employment Law Advisory Services (which provides advice for employers) said access should be for business use only.
Social networking sites have enjoyed a boom year, with memberships to sites such as Facebook, Bebo and mySpace growing into the millions.Sites such as Facebook are predominantly used by people to keep in touch with friends, to tell them what they've been up to, arrange future events, post photos and so on.
The very nature of these sites can mean that an intended visit of 15 minutes to catch up with friends, can easily turn into hours of surfing, message sending and voyeurism.
A TUC spokeswoman speaking on Sky News today was saying that it's no different from making personal phone calls or staring out of the window.
But the risk that these social networking sites pose, which sets them apart from newspaper reading and daydreaming out of the window is that it's easy to make it look like you are working when you are in fact using a social networking site.
Whilst lunchtime and after work use is probably a facility that employers should allow, if only to foster good employer/employee relations, an increasing number of employers are banning social networking sites.
Reports say that Kent County Council, for instance, banned its 32,000 employees from using Facebook in a effort to reduce time-wasting.
On a personal note, I think these sites are a fantastic idea; and they really show the powerful nature of the internet. I just wonder if all the negative publicity at the moment comes from technologically uneducated people who don't like what they don't understand. If social networking sites are to be banned from the workplace then surely mobile phones should be in the firing line too...