If you have employees with access to PC’s during business hours, you may be worried about a time drain due to social networking. Some employers are even asking the SBDC & CITD for advice.These concerns may rise if your employees are under 30.
Recently some studies have been undertaken, and they were summarized on the NPR All Tech Considered Blog. From the LexisNexis Technology Gap Survey:
- Two-thirds of boomers say that use of devices including PDAs, mobile phones and other gadgets contribute to a decline in workplace etiquette.
- Gen Y workers say they spend almost 11 hours a day accessing social networking sites and assorted Web sites, nearly double the level of baby boomers.
- Gen Y workers multitask at higher levels than Gen X or Baby Boomer workers. But more than half of Gen Y’ers say that BlackBerries and mobile phones encourage “too much” multitasking.
And from Deloitte’s social networking and reputation risk:
- More than half of employees, 53 percent, say that their social networking is none of their employer’s business.
- A majority of executives, 60 percent, say they have a right to know how employees are portraying themselves and their organizations in online social networks.
- Nearly three-quarters of employees say it’s easy to damage a company’s reputation using social media.
To address this, some employers are asking their bloggers and tweeters to focus their attentions on the company when they are on the clock. To make their internet time more “constructive” for the company, they may encourage Gen Y employees talk about their company’s website and business on social networks… instead of what they plan to do on Friday night. This may also help smooth over disagreements between employees of different generations.
Do you allow social networking on company time? Do you block any websites at your office? Share your experiences in the comments section below.
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