Balancing Act: Internet and Social Media Use At Work

                      With social media outlets such as Facebook and Google+ being so popular and things like fantasy football leagues becoming a staple for many during the winter months personal computer use and even online shopping and banking are inherently going to creep into your employees minds, especially with the ease of receiving email updates on smartphones and wireless internet available nearly everywhere now. So this brings up the question of how employers should address this issue. Is it something that’s been constantly eating away at productivity, is it merely a minor distraction or is it even an issue at all. As the employer you have to ask yourself is it a problem worth addressing? what will the reaction be? And what is the best case scenario or improvement that could come of banning these distractions all together? In doing some online reading reports have suggested ideas on both sides of the spectrum; employees personal internet use is taking up hours of time each day and others saying that yes internet use is common in the workplace but productivity is almost no lower on account of that. My take is distractions are going to creep into the workplace in most cases, internet use is just one of these. Extended lunch breaks, chatter amongst employees and at times foolish games or pranks invented to add a bit of flavour to a sometimes mundane day are common at work. Taking away personal computer use, the one contact they may have outside of work in an 8-10 hour day could cause some unrest with your employees, especially the younger generations who are seemingly tapped into their network of friends, online social groups and hobbies at all times. My opinion is don’t impose a policy eliminating this practice altogether because internet use for personal interests is going to happen. I would encourage employees to do this on their breaks, lunches and at home as much as possible and suggest if it becomes a problem then some disciplinary or internet limiting policies may find their way into the workplace as a result of low productivity. What are your thought on the topic?