Is Facebook ruining your job?
Facebook is the latest addictive social networking craze sweeping the UK - people spend hours every day catching up with long lost friends online & organising their social life through the site, all for free.
After initially avoiding Facebook, we formed a Busy Girls Facebook page on the instruction of our web marketing agency. We were told that it would be another effective way for Busy Girls to find our site & that group messaging on Facebook allows users to get informed of up & coming local events we hold.
Ban book
So what’s the harm? Why the fuss? There are now 3.5 million Facebook users in the UK but frustrations are arising as many businesses have started banning it so their staff can’t log on during their working day.
According to lawyers Aaron & Partners of Chester, employers are within their rights to ban Facebook to remove any temptation from employees. Shockingly, if you're caught on Facebook for too long at work, you may be up for dismissal.
To avoid such harsh measures many businesses are now opting for outright bans to get us back on the job.
Big Brother
Big Brother is watching us - in March, in a poll of 500 employers by UK recruitment agency Poolia, two thirds admitted to regularly carrying out internet searches, including checking social networking sites including Facebook, MySpace & YouTube.
“The only issue with an outright ban is that it may send out the message that employees are not trusted”, say Aaron & Partners, “An outright ban may not be required if you have the policies in place setting out what is & isn’t allowed. Managers need to educate their staff on what is acceptable regarding company PC usage”.
However, there’s plenty of evidence around to get employees into trouble – a recent US study found that the average 18 to 34 year-old spends 45 minutes of each work day conducting personal business on the internet.
So, networking online may be the future, but get too addicted & at this rate, you could end up with no job.
Book worm
Our advice is simply to take it in moderation, have a bit of fun with it at home but be careful what you publish – you don’t want those seemingly funny snaps being seen by your bosses, future bosses or peers – keep it short & sweet & keep out of strife.
Visit the Busy Girls Facebook Group
Send us your thoughts...
|
|
