CIOZone.com - Professional Network for CIOs and IT Professionals

Employees who like to share the latest news with their Facebook friends or tweet their followers while at work, run the risk of losing their job, a survey suggests.

Technology recruiting firm Robert Half interviewed 1,400 chief information officers and leading technology executives to get their viewpoints on the use of social networking services in the workplace. More than half of those polled (54%) said their firms do not allow employees to visit social networking sites for any reason while at work.

CIOs were specifically asked: “Which of the following most closely describes your company’s policy on visiting social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, while at work?”

Their responses:

• Prohibited completely – 54%
• Permitted for business purposes – 19%
• Permitted for personal use – 16%
• Permitted for any type of personal use – 10%
• Don’t know – 1%

“Using social networking sites may divert employees’ attention away from more pressing priorities, so it’s understandable that some companies limit access,” says Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology. “For some professions, however, these sites can be leveraged as effective business tools, which may be why about one in five companies allows their use for work-related purposes.”

The bottom line, says Willmer, is that employees should exercise good judgment as to whether they can or should be tweeting or networking on the job. Even outside of business hours, you should exercise common sense. “Regrettable posts can be a career liability,” he adds.

So what is a compulsive social networker to do? Robert Half offers these tips.

1. Know what’s allowed. Make sure you understand and adhere to your company’s social networking policy.

2. Use caution. Be familiar with each site’s privacy settings to ensure personal details or photos you post can be viewed only by people you choose.

3. Keep it professional. Use social networking sites while at work to make connections with others in your field or follow industry news – not to catch up with family and friends.

4. Stay positive. Avoid complaining about your manager or coworkers. Once you hit the submit button, you can’t always take back your words.

5. Polish your image. Tweet or blog about a topic related to your profession.

6. Monitor yourself. Even if your employer has a liberal policy, limit the time you spend social networking.

Comments (4)

	1. 10-07-2009 00:29
	A company should provide social networking guidelines that are consistent with its culture and expectations for its employees; however, investing a lot of effort in filtering sites is increasingly a futile task as the capabilities of personal mobile devices grows. The bottom line is that companies need to be able to trust employees and also be able to adequately assess their performance to see that trust validated. Social networks can be productivity enhancers as well if you work with external suppliers, as many people are spending less time on IM services and more time in the more immersive experience offered by Facebook for example, which means that your connection there may be the quickest way to reach an individual. Registered

Fred Kauber

	2. 10-07-2009 09:33
	This conversation reminds me of the same dilemma companies faced about whether to give employees Internet access: Some were afraid it would reduce employee productivity.   I agree with Fred that trust is the key. If you don't trust your employees then you have a bigger problem. Moreover, as work has stretched far beyond the walls of the corporation, employees need to evaluate their employees on results. If an employee's work meets or exceeds expectations does it matter if she responded to a friend on Facebook about her son's soccer achievement? This is the new workplace environment where personal and professional lives do overlap. Registered

Ellen Pearlman

	3. 10-07-2009 16:56
	The key piece of advice for me was point No. 3: Keep it professional. I don't think any employer would object to people using a social network to build up contacts within their profession or to stay on top of the latest news or developments. Registered

Mel Duvall

	4. 10-07-2009 20:30
	I definitely agree with Ellen that this all has a deja vu feel of the early days of Internet access, as well as with Mel that the social network contributions should be kept professional. Most people that have gotten themselves into trouble have done so by posting inappropriate content, and for long term reputation management reasons that should be deemed a no-no on company or personal time; there is a whole generation of digital natives that are filling the Twitterverse with content that may bite them down the road when it comes time to get a job.  I'm still waiting to read the report of a draconian organization that fires a staff member for doing a personal tweet on company time, as confirmed via the tweet time stamp. Registered

Fred Kauber

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.