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Reasons You Should Let Your Employees Access Social Media Sites at Work

2/03/10

Studies have shown that allowing workers to engage in non-work related internet activity is actually a good thing for your company. Here are some reasons why:

1. Increased productivity

A study conducted by Dr. Coker at the University of Melbourne has found that employees who spend up to 20% of their time in the office on non-work related internet browsing have a 9% increase in productivity compared to those workers who spend no time on non-work related surfing. The main reason behind this is because our brains can only handle so many minutes at a time devoted to highly focused attention. By allowing our brains to rest for about 10-20 minutes per hour, we actually accomplish more in the 40-50 minutes spent on attentive work.

2. Attraction and retention of a higher quality talent pipeline

Facebook, Twitter, GTalk, and other instant messaging programs are the younger generations’ forms of communication. Being allowed to access these sites while at work is actually something Millennials are seeking in the companies they aspire to work for. It is apparent that younger generational workers see no problem with accessing social media sites while at work, whether or not they are allowed to according to company policy according to a chart from an article on Readwriteweb.com called “Report: Millennials Will Route Around IT Departments.” And why should they see a problem with it? This situation is akin to being able to make personal phone calls at work, which is now highly acceptable. The only difference with being able to communicate online is that coworkers do not have to listen to you blather on and on about personal information, because you type it instead.

Additionally, this younger generation consists of more recent college graduates who have the latest and greatest knowledge about the industries they will be entering, which provides a rich talent pipeline for companies. It would be a shame if potential talent chose a competitor because they allow access to Facebook during work hours while your company does not.

3. Creates a more engaged workforce

By allowing workers to access non-work related websites, they can actually gain more information on industry trends, be able to access communication with other industry figures (perhaps by following these individuals’ Twitter accounts), and be able to think creatively about innovations related to the workplace. These workers begin to engage with their organizations and end up being more satisfied. Especially in times such as these, with the economy just starting to turn around, increased job satisfaction is important to attracting and retaining good employees.

Overall, allowing workers to access social networking sites and other non-work related sites during work hours benefits the organization as a whole. Of course, if an employee spends too much time on these non-work related activities, productivity will decrease. Some companies who allow social media access in the workplace have posted their company guidelines on their websites for the public to see. If your company is considering increasing the types of internet access allowable to workers, check out Intel , IBM , and RightNow for some example guidelines.

This article was based on a Harvard Business Review article: http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/managementtip.php?date=020310.