Big_Bird
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: Sometimes here sometimes there...
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 Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 7:34 pm Post subject: Bosses crack down on internet socialising |
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Bosses crack down on internet socialising
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Unions report phenomenal rise in disputes involving use of networking sites
For anyone with a case of mild Facebook addiction, finding the time to squeeze a little work in between messing around online has become one of the great challenges of the 21st-century office. So if you are taking a quiet moment at work to read this online, steal a glance over your shoulder now: an investigation by the Guardian has found that employers are taking an increasingly draconian line on workplace time-wasters.
More than 1,700 public employees have been sacked or disciplined for internet or email misuse in the past three years, our research has found.
The figures - obtained from 65 institutions - show how strongly employers are clamping down on staff who spend hours on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo.
Unions say that disputes over the sites are growing at a phenomenal rate and have demanded clearer guidelines for their use. Studies have shown that up to �130m a day in productivity is lost because of the sites, with Facebook's British members spending an average of 143 minutes a month logged in.
Other common offences include excessive use of other websites or email, viewing "inappropriate" material such as pornography and the forwarding of offensive emails. An increasing number of employers now attempt to ban sites they consider inappropriate. Government departments have been among the most unforgiving. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), formally the Department for Constitutional Affairs, dismissed 30 employees while the Department for Work and Pensions reprimanded 313.
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But is it any wonder?
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Cary Cooper, a professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University, said that managers should be realistic. "Britain has some of the longest working hours in the developed world. Employers have created this culture. It is natural for people to have to use work computers for organising their personal life." Social networking has boomed over the past 12 months. Facebook alone now has more than 5 million regular users in the UK.
A spokesman said: "While we respect the decision of employers to put website policies into place, we also encourage them to consider the important role Facebook plays in people's daily lives."
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