According to a study conducted by Robert Half Technology and released by Computerworld, 54 percent of U.S. companies say they have prohibited employees from using social networking sites, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace while at work. Interestingly enough, YouTube, which is not necessarily always as “politically correct” as the above-mentioned sites, was not included in the survey. 

The study also reported that one in five companies allows use for work-related purposes. On one hand, it’s obvious from the employer’s perspective that team members should be working rather than “playing” online. However, it is interesting to note that these sites also offer value via “staying connected” with current/prospective clients and business partners. I find myself using Facebook much more often now to reach out to business contacts than I did a few months ago. I often send messages to “friends” as a means of following up, getting information and so on. In addition, our agency team members, as well as our clients, use tweets and fan pages to post news and events. And it is also interesting to note that I get an almost immediate response to my messages, which leads me to believe that people have access at work or using Smartphones.  

I know it’s a challenging discussion as social media becomes more predominant. While I understand the management issue of regulating social networking sites at work, I hope that as professionals, we are responsible enough to understand the relevance of social media and the balance we need to maintain in our workplaces. 

I’m asking for an informal survey. Do you use social networking sites at work? Do you spend more than a few minutes/day on them? Reply anonymously if you’d like!