Social Networking Websites - Good or Bad for the Workplace?
Does your company have a formal policy governing internet access to social networking sites like FaceBook, My Space or Linked-In during work hours? Social networking sites are relatively new in the employment arena and reaction is mixed. Some employers feel websites like Linked-In can be a valuable marketing, networking and sales tool and encourage their employees to establish a strong presence on such websites. Other employers believe websites like FaceBook or My Space cause a drain on productivity and create the opportunity of leaking confidential company information. Your company's reaction to employee-use of social internet networking sites depends on a number of different things. Considerations include whether there is a benefit (usually networking) that can be achieved by employee presence on such websites, the possibility for over-use of such sites, the loss of workplace productivity, the type of information disseminated on such websites, etc. Each company must make an individualized determination as to whether social networking sites are beneficial to the company and what risks such websites pose before creating formalized policies concerning the use of social networking sites. Regardless, in this new electronic age, each company should consider whether its policies are keeping up with electronic advances and whether social networking policies (or any other policies concerning new technologies--see our July 17 posting regarding text messaging policies) are warranted.