Career Advice

Do Social Networking Websites Make Workers Less Productive?

Advice Seeker: Dear April,

At the company I work for, some of the employees seems to spend their entire day on Facebook or other social networking (in my opinion, time wasting) websites. I personally think companies should ban these sites if they want their workers to be as productive as possible. Why don't businesses realize how much time social networking sites are wasting and get rid of them?

Sincerely,

Time Wasting Websites

April Masini's advice:

Dear Time Wasting Websites,

There are always going to be vices to tempt employees to not work -- whether it's the cute guy in the next cubicle or those fabulous Prada boots on e-Bay. Some employees are incessant water cooler hoverers and then there are those who can't get off the phone with their mothers (husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc.).

Facebook, social networking sites, and other internet computer sites that lure employees out of work and into other arenas aren't new, and they aren't going away. My good employees know how to use their time wisely. Some can go eight hours in a row and knock out fabulous work, while others do their best work an hour on and an hour off. Networking sites on the internet can often spur creative ideas and can inform my employees so that they do better work. Or, the sites can work against my company and keep my employees from doing a good job for me.

The crux of the problem is the employee and how mature they are, and whether they tend towards procrastination and addiction tendencies--so that they need more and more time on websites at the expense of the rest of their lives and work.