Facebook: corporate time waster
p2pnet news | Freedom:- It’s okay for companies to fire employees they think are spending too much personal time online, states a British law firm.
Social networking sites are joining P2P as an alleged corporate time waster and, “Workers who spend too much time on the social networking websites such as Facebook are costing firms over £130 million a day (around $264,055,277), a new report has claimed,” says the Press Association.
It goes on, “Employment law firm Peninsula estimated that 233 million hours are lost every month by employees ‘wasting time” on the internet” and the company’s Mike Huss wonders, “Why should employers allow their workers to waste two hours a day on Facebook when they are being paid to do a job?
“Continued misuse of the internet by an employee is a situation when disciplining and sacking a worker is acceptable. Sites such as Facebook will only get more popular as time goes by and so I anticipate productivity will suffer as a consequence.”
The study was based on a survey of 3,500 companies across the UK, says the story.
Some firms have embraced Facebook as a motivational tool, but others have cracked down, says the BBC, continuing:
Last month, Kent County Council (KCC) banned workers from using Facebook in an effort to crack down on “time-wasting”.
The TUC (Trades Union Congress) said last months that all-out bans were not the answer and that firms should draw up guidelines instead.
Employers were entitled to stop people using the sites during the working day, but staff should be able to use their time during lunch breaks to contact friends, says the TUC.
Meanwhile, Sheffield Hallam University’s Dr Will Reader has been conducting research into the new types of friendships being fostered online, says PA, adding:
“Presenting his findings at the BA (British Association) Festival of Science at York University, he said that the huge contact lists of some members of Facebook and MySpace belied their real social status.”
“Although the number of friends people have on these sites can be massive, the number of close friends is approximately the same as in the face-to-face real world contact,” he told delegates.
Also See:
Press Association – Social websites ‘cost £130m a day’, September 10, 2007
BBC – Facebook ‘costs businesses dear’, September 11, 2007
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September 12th, 2007 at 7:52 am
Really? Telephone is the really a big time waster.
So, multiply the Internet time wasted by 2 to account for telephone time wasted. Then you will realize that the numbers are not realistic.
Anyway, whatever hapenned to old fashion supervision? Are the supervisors also wasting their time on the telehone (calling home) and the Internet (being entertained)?