Recent research shows that the use of social media websites at work is on the increase, with many employers seeing Facebook and Twitter usage at work as being particularly problematic. A new study from Palo Alto suggests that since 2010, the use of Facebook at work has tripled. Twitter use is also increasing, and at a far higher rate. The study showed that usage has increased by 700% during the same period.
Facebook and Twitter usage at work: Is it really a problem?
The increase in time spent on social networking websites is not all about employees accessing their personal accounts at work. Many companies have started using social media websites to connect with clients and customers. The sites are an incredibly useful way of getting closer to customers. Corporations can use social media to find out what customers really want and what they really think of the organization. They are now essential for many businesses, allowing customer service standards to be improved, while the sites can also be used to effectively promote goods and services. The latter is arguably far cheaper than TV adverts and newspaper and magazine adverts.
Nowadays, it is actually a rarity for a business not to have a Facebook and Twitter account. In many cases, companies provide employees with a range of tools to manage social media accounts to send Tweets on Twitter or post content to Facebook.
Social media introduces security risks
There is no denying that social media is useful for businesses. In fact, having corporate accounts is now sometimes considered essential. Unfortunately, the use of these websites is not without risk. Operating a Facebook page and running a Twitter account potentially exposes a company to malware, viruses, and cyberattacks. The sites take up a lot of valuable bandwidth. Social media websites can also take up a huge amount of time and produce little in the way of additional revenue. The productivity of employees can be seriously reduced if they are spending too long accessing their personal accounts.
While companies are using social media sites more, there is a concern that employees are spending too much time on the sites for non-work related matters. Many employees do spend a considerable amount of work time maintaining their own personal presence on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
The researchers have acknowledged that employees do spend time on their own accounts, but say that much of the extra time spent on the sites is in fact work-related. Consequently, it has been suggested that employers should not be overly concerned about the rise in reported social media use at work.
While it is a fairly easy process to determine how long is spent on social media sites, it is not quite so easy to calculate how much time is spent on work-related matters and how long employees are spending on their own accounts. Any company concerned about personal use of social media accounts should develop clear policies on acceptable use of social media websites. That is arguably the easiest first step to take to address personal use.
Personal use of the sites must be monitored and managed, and it is vital that policies are developed to tackle personal use. That includes the time spent on the sites as well as the information that is posted. Facebook and Twitter usage at work is likely to be a problem if controls are not put in place to limit access, or if policies are not developed to determine acceptable levels of Facebook and Twitter usage at work.
Get the balance right and social media can be of great benefit to your business, but get it wrong and it will just be a huge drain on time, resources and money. It could also result in your systems being compromised. Social media sites contain a considerable amount of malware, and phishers use posts to trick users into revealing personal and corporate information.
Some employers may feel the security risk from Facebook and Twitter usage at work warrants a company-wide ban on site access in the workplace. If that is the case, a web filter is the easiest way to block usage. A flexible product will also allow usage for certain departments to ensure that corporate accounts can still be accessed, or can be used to block malware without blocking access to the actual websites.