No Facebook, No Job

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  NYC PR pro06/18/08 Report as spam
  1

  Restricted websites

  Plenty of companies restrict access to yahoo.com and google.com so employees will not check personal email during company time. This is no different. There is a dress code for work, and a behavior code.

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  CC Holland06/18/08 Report as spam
  2

  Dress code, behavior code

  Excellent point. Maybe I'm getting curmudgeonly in my old age, but I don't think it's out of line for an employer to set the parameters of the workplace. And given that a goodly portion of them do so, the 18-to-24-year-olds who think Facebook is their right (and would quit without it) might soon find it hard to land a job.

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  kelley200806/18/08 Report as spam
  3

  RE: No Facebook, No Job

  Can employers set policy to require employees who use facebook or myspace and other
  social networking sites as to how they represent their employer and mandate guidelines
  for this avenue of communication?

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  CC Holland06/18/08 Report as spam
  4

  Yes, but...

  Sure, they can do that, and many employers who don't ban social-networking sites do so. Most social-networking sites also allow users to participate while cloaking their unique personal information. I think the larger issue isn't trashing their employer to their friends or possibly sharing classified info; it's the loss of productivity and the chomped-up bandwidth. It's hard to justify Facebook as a work-related tool, and exchanging photos and videos can clog servers that are needed for actual work functions.

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  patti schuldenfrei06/18/08 Report as spam
  5

  Give 'em a break

  I don't mean give 'em a break and let them do whatever they want. I mean give 'em a break -- they're 18- to 24-year old, for heaven's sake! There's nothing new about people that age going through the culture shock of growing up. We all learned to adjust to the working world in one way or another. One of my favorite lines is from the high-school-hell movie Heathers, where the Mom says, "Why is it whenever kids complain they just want to be treated like adults, it's usually when you ARE treating them like an adult?" Touche.

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  CC Holland06/18/08 Report as spam
  6

  Treat 'em like an adult

  Great points! And yes, you're right, they're essentially kids who are getting hit with a dose of cold water when they hit the workplace. Still, doesn't it say something about this new crop of workers that they're taking a stand on having a personal life in the office? In my first few jobs, I was so grateful to be employed (and, yes, intimidated) that my bosses could've told me that lunch breaks weren't allowed and I would have eaten at my desk. Holding a job isn't a right, it's a privilege, and I find it disheartening that young workers today are deciding they get to call the shots.

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  nlaguerre06/18/08 Report as spam
  7

  RE: No Facebook, No Job

  If your usuage is excessive then yes thats a problem. First let me say I am 35 year old and I dont use the social sites BUT I dont think using them at work is any different than sending multiple emails all day to friends or using professional sites such as Linked-in OR even the amount of time people spend walking around talking to co-workers or on the phone. It is the same type of timewaster at work just done in new era style.
  I remember when yahoo IM became popular- I remember working more because the entertainment kept me alert. This individuals are used to more stimulation. Is productivity actually decreasing- I doubt it. You might find a decrease when you take it completely away.

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  CC Holland06/18/08 Report as spam
  8

  Well, there are some differences

  I hear you, but there are some differences. If you're sending e-mail to friends all day long, your company can monitor them and if something's awry -- e.g., you're spilling secrets -- it can take action. That's not so with social-networking sites. You could also make an argument that LinkedIn has direct benefits to the workplace since it's a professional network, while sharing the details of Sam's drunken debauchery doesn't really do much for your workplace.
  
  The bandwidth issue, too, is quite different than with e-mail; social-networking sites that allow video and photo uploading and sharing can be quite burdensome on servers.
  
  To some extent I agree that this is just a modern version of water-cooler chitchat and can provide a much-needed break in a day of productive work. But if an employer wants to limit that chitchat (and many do), it's his prerogative as the guy who signs the paychecks.

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  keckerdt06/18/08 Report as spam
  9

  RE: No Facebook, No Job

  Your employee is paying you to do your job, not socialize. I see nothing wrong with "socializing" on a break...phone calls, email, whatever your vice is, but when you are on the clock, you need to be doing your job.

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  CC Holland06/18/08 Report as spam
  10

  Yup.

  I agree with that. And for the folks who don't like the office environment, there's always the ROWE system to be tried... http://blogs.bnet.com/teamwork/?p=273

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  sanjay000011/20/09 Report as spam
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