Social Media in the Workplace

http://www.berkshireassociates.com/resources/white-papers/general-hr/social-media-and-the-workplace%E2%80%94to-be-or-not-to-be.aspx

- My views on social media in the workplace is that so long as it is being used for productive work reasons and given some time to outlet to our personal lives then it could be very effective. As the article suggests, in terms of positives, it is beneficial and makes common sense to have breaks to let our minds rest and flourish. Also, if there ever arises a problem that we cant solve, what do we normally do when we cant get it done ourselves?; we ask questions. This is a great way to ask people not online in our offices and places of work but the whole world connected by the internet for solutions to our issues. If there is ever the issues of people needing to be replaced, an executive can use social media. There are some heavy negatives to this type of establishment in the work place however.
     According to a July 2009, companies lose an effective average 1.5 hours of total office productivity when employees can access social media such as Facebook throughout the day (Nucleus Research). When it comes to useful time a company wouldn't want to run into the issue of distractions, and social media does propose an infinite amount of them. It is up the maturity and responsibility of the workers in said companies using social media to avoid distraction and focus on the tasks at hand. With this, there is also the issue of security of the workers and business itself. If information about a company or the personal lives of the coworkers it could mean detrimental penalty. This would not be good if accounts were hacked, money was lost, workers were put on a chopping block to be fired due to inappropriate content. This could really make a huge negative impact on anyone and the company they work for.

     I personally think that the installment of allowing workers to use social media for work related purposes is a great idea so long as everyone is on board and is aware of the very serious punishments that can come about. Without the distraction and people not minding the fact that they work for something bigger than their selves, social media can be a very useful technique in making work more efficent.