British bosses ban "social notworking"

Social networking may well be a popular online activity, but “not on our time” say European bosses who are beginning to impose bans on the productivity-sapping sites.

by Helen Leggatt

Social networking while at work is becoming increasingly frowned upon in Europe and nowhere more so than in the U.K. A recent report by mobile phone giant, 3, found that 35% of U.K employers have an official policy in place to prohibit such activity.

Many Brits use sites such as Facebook, MySpace and MSN Messenger to keep tabs on their friends and family while at work. Employers, however, have felt the need to take action after the amount of time being spent on “social notworking” rose to record levels.

In Spain, only 19% of firms have official "social notworking" policies, followed by Germany (17%), France (17%) and Italy (16%).

An expert in employee motivation in the workplace believes that banning social networking sites won’t make a difference to employee productivity. "In a large company, it's quite easy to hide the fact that you're not working," said David Bolchover, author of The Living Dead: The Truth About Office Life. "If you ban access to networking sites, workers who want to take a break will easily find another way.”

"Too many managers are still living in the factory era where productivity increases with time spent working a machine. For the modern knowledge worker, productivity has nothing to do with long hours on the job, but flows from an active and motivated mind. This motivation is sure to plummet by being treated like a naughty schoolchild."