Few weeks ago I started an online discussion about the allowed use (or not) of Facebook in the workplace. A lot of people participated and the discussions posted were very interesting to say the least.
Regardless of Facebook, workers are not always allowed to use their social networks at work under the allegation that their inappropriate use can negatively impact employees’ focus and productivity.
I personally don’t agree with that. I myself have profiles on Linked In, Twitter, Plaxo, and Facebook, in addition to videoclips on Youtube. My productivity is not affected because of that. Quite the contrary, I believe it’s even higher (the entire discussion about the use of Facebook was conducted through a set of interconnected social networks!!).
On the other hand one must also consider that the improper use of social networks might lead to the loss of productivity and focus in the workplace. It might, but not necessarily.
Let’s use a knife as an analogy. You might consider it to be a weapon, even an object whose use should be forbidden. However, through correct use a knife is an essential tool in several activities. So one way to look at it might be that it’s about how we use each tool we’re provided with.
And this was also addressed in the discussion about Facebook use in the workplace: common sense. But once again I’d like to point out my reservation about this. Common sense doesn’t exist. It’s part of each one’s individual framework and it’s extremely bound by cultural, religious issues; and varies depending on the context.
So how can one allow the use of social networks in the workplace without losing productivity and focus in the results to be delivered? Simple answer. By being focused on management!
It might sound like an easy answer, as if management were the answer for everything. But the truth is that it generally is!
Managers should pay closer attention to the results of their teams and how they produce them. Following the process of result generation and the impact of such process in motivating employees is a responsibility of managers.
For that reason prohibiting people to use Facebook (or any other social network) is not an action suitable to companies that plan on making the utmost use of the potentials offered by the current world. What businesses should be doing is training managers capable of guiding their teams toward maximizing the use of social networks to their own benefits, and training globally connected employees to exchange information, generate content and value online. Of course there are professions in which the use of social networks as work tool is less obvious. But perhaps social networks are today what the world wide web represented a few years back, which was only seen as useful in the academic environment. And does anyone see themselves living without the internet today?
Certainly, accommodating these new tools in the workplace (and why not in schools as well?) will still generate a lot of attrition and adjustment, which is natural.
But it’s already a reality; everyone’s is connected. Even without knowing for sure how social networks can actually help ONLINE is already my middle name and yours. Isn’t it?
