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Say That Again

by Mike Masnick

Wed, Sep 5th 2007 1:32am




Filed Under:
internet filters, personal surfing, social networks

Companies:
facebook, myspace


Some Reasonable Advice On Facebook At Work From British Trade Unions

from the ain't-so-bad dept

We've seen a bunch of ridiculous reports lately blaming Facebook for lost productivity and saying that nearly half of all companies now ban Facebook at work. Those studies were both biased and misleading -- often coming from companies that were trying to sell filtering solutions to companies. Over in the UK, however, it's nice to see the Trades Union Congress (TUC) there say that banning Facebook at work is going too far and throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Instead, the group recommended that companies come up with some straightforward usage policies. All in all, the group's comments seem quite reasonable, noting that there are benefits to these services and banning them outright is simply an overreaction. The report also notes that banning sites like Facebook won't stop employees from slacking off at times and it probably won't even stop them from figuring out ways to get to Facebook. Instead, it makes more sense to focus on encouraging them to use social networking sites in a reasonable way and then just focusing on whether or not the employees are actually getting their jobs done.

18 Comments | Leave a Comment..


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Reader Comments (rss)

(Flattened / Threaded)

  1.  

    No shortage of slacking options

    identicon
    ihatemyspace, Sep 5th, 2007 @ 3:34am

    Where there's work to be done, there are slackers nearby - even in Japan. Facebook is just one of the countless ways for workers to waste precious man hours.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  

    No shortage of slacking options

    identicon
    ihatemyspace, Sep 5th, 2007 @ 3:35am

    Where there's work to be done, there are slackers nearby - even in Japan. Facebook is just one of the countless ways for workers to waste precious man hours.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 5th, 2007 @ 3:49am

    Facebook is not the only way ...
    This site is where i waste plenty of productive hours

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  

    Facebook ?!

    identicon
    Shohat, Sep 5th, 2007 @ 4:55am

    Why allow facebook at work ? What are the benefits ?!

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  

    Re: Facebook ?!

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 5th, 2007 @ 5:03am

    I agree. In fact why allow internet access full stop? I think only if you really need it should you get it and let's be honest most people don't need it.

    Continuing in that vein I think all music devices and mobile phones should also be banned, toilet breaks, coffee breaks, lunch breaks. Actually why not just bring back slavery then all you need do is provide the minimum food for the slave to function and we'll all be so much happier living under our corporate masters....

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  

    Re: Facebook ?!

    identicon
    Ricky @ MWIR.net, Sep 5th, 2007 @ 5:24am

    Happy Employees are the benefits. Wasn't there an article on here a week or two ago that said that employees who do browse social networking sites are happier and manage their time better?

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  

    Re: Re: Facebook ?!

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 5th, 2007 @ 5:29am

    Companies are always ready to jump on the bandwagon on how much money there employees lose there companies money by time wasting. One day it would be nice for a positive story on how much money the workers actually make them!!

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  

    Re: Facebook ?!

    identicon
    Dan, Sep 5th, 2007 @ 6:35am

    I discussed this at length with a group of my friends during my internship at GE. Last year facebook was banned, but this year everyone had access. The only conclusion we could come to was that someone had convinced management that the presence of a GE network would enable employees another avenue of contacting each other and networking within the company. Both of which are good things for GE as a whole. Plus now there aren't countless requests to them to allow facebook. Plus, unless you are a facebook addict, you can only spend so much time on it before you are bored out of your mind and you'll get back to work.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  
    identicon
    RandomThoughts, Sep 5th, 2007 @ 7:11am

    I am not sure about Facebook (as I have never been there) but I am still trying to figure out the benefits of other sites like LinkedIn.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  10.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 5th, 2007 @ 7:55am

    Since when did it become crazy for a company to expect their employees to actually work when they're at work? employees don't NEED internet access or the other BS to be happy at work, if you like your job and treated well by your employer and paid well then why are you gonna be a lil b!tch and cry because you can't browse the internet? your computer at work is for work and is not your personal computer.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  11.  
    icon
    Philip (profile), Sep 5th, 2007 @ 8:31am

    When a company attempts to ban sites at work, I spend more time getting around the filters than I did when there weren't any. haha

    I remember spending an entire day working on a remote proxy to allow me to use IM while at work, getting around the firewall they had 'tracking' conversations.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  12.  

    Y'all are fired.

    identicon
    Boss, Sep 5th, 2007 @ 12:07pm

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  13.  
    identicon
    Stuart, Sep 5th, 2007 @ 2:09pm

    Work is for work. Office workers are by far the most unproductive lot of humans on the face of the earth.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  14.  

    Re:

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 6th, 2007 @ 4:25am

    Thank you, Everybody acts like they're entitled to anything more than a paycheck, any "extras" you have only because of the goodwill of the company you work for, you are not "entitled" to it. You don't have a "right" to use their equipment how you see fit.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  15.  

    Re:

    identicon
    name, Sep 6th, 2007 @ 12:54pm

    :)

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  16.  

    Re: Re:

    identicon
    name, Sep 6th, 2007 @ 12:57pm

    and who the hell do u think u are?

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  17.  
    identicon
    phil, Sep 11th, 2007 @ 12:13am

    man i work in an office, and i would desperatly love access to facebook, and i spend my days whining about corporate values and how i'm undervalued and may as well be a slave etc etc etc... but if i had access to facebook, productivity would drop. it is the PERFECT time waster, it's pointless, everyone in the whole world seems to be on it.

    seriously anyone saying this doesnt impact productivity is a freak who is completly immune to distractions, and probably has no friends as they'd spend all day messaging them if they did.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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