The word “Facebook” has now become synonymical to the social networks in general due to its wild popularity among other networking websites. It’s got around 1.4 billion monthly active users (that’s something like 25% of Earth's population), and almost 900 million people use it daily. What it means is at least some or all your company employees tend to login to their FB profiles at least once a day while at work. The term “Facebook addiction” appeared to mark the state when people keep checking their profile every now and then, which leads to procrastination and wasting time rather than attend to the work duties.
Reducing Employee Facebook Engagement at Work: Ineffective Way
For many employers, their workers’ Facebook usage has become a plague they are trying to fight as their worst enemy, since, according to their persuasion, it is a major threat to employee productivity. At the first sight, it seems quite logical – the time spent on social networking during the work hours is wasted, while it could be used for solving work tasks.
The most frequent result of such attitude is blocking Facebook access company-wise using IT technologies. But if you think that such a measure guarantees zero cheating and total dedication to work only, you are deeply wrong. Numerous researches and case studies prove that this method is ineffective, because it makes social networks even more attractive. Employees spend more time on finding the ways to check their FB than they would on the visit itself. They can also use their smartphones and tablets for the purpose, and this presents a significant distraction.
How to make use of employee Facebook usage
So, if blocking doesn’t work, what is the way out – is this the question you’re asking? Well, if you cannot fight Facebook, make it your “friend”. There’s a scientific ground for such a recommendation, and lots of benefits.
1. Productivity… boost
According to the University of Melbourne study, using social networks at work can increase productivity rather than reduce it. Employees who allow themselves a few minutes of Facebook as a reward for completing an assignment, or in case they need a break feature better productivity compared to those with blocked access and are 9% more accomplished.
2. Better relationships inside the company
Moreover, the company can benefit from social networks by creating a corporate page and engaging its employees into discussion. It would be especially useful for big organisations with offices in diverse locations.
3. Company promotion
In addition, employees can act as brand ambassadors, promoting the company in Facebook and other social networks. However, success is provided only when employees are satisfied with their employment, and don’t feel any pressure.
Keeping social networks under control during work hours
Without a doubt, networking should be present in the life of your company, but it doesn’t mean this activity should not be kept an eye on. Anyway, people have got work to do. So, how to find the golden middle between a ban and total freedom?
1. Creating a company policy
This document should be well thought and discussed with employees, and set the rules and limits to the use of social networks during work hours. It can be a good idea to even include measures taken in case of policy violation.
2. Using a time tracking tool
This doesn’t exclude the previous idea, and can be used in a combination with it. The idea behind a time tracking tool is keeping record of all the activity on the computer, including websites visited. This will let both employer and employees keep track of the time spent for social networks to the minute. With this info at hand, it becomes much easier for managers to see the connection between Facebook usage and productivity of individual employees, and draw corresponding conclusions. Also, it’s possible to see the dynamics by comparing the application’s weekly or monthly reports, and take measures whenever necessary.
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