Since the onset of the Facebook phenomenon, workers and their employers have been at odds about its use in the workplace. In 2007, the BBC reported that Facebook was costing UK firms 233 million hours of work time per month (not to mention an estimated £130 million a day) due to employees visiting the social network during work hours. Considering that Canadians are also wasting a considerable amount of time on the networking site and that worldwide Facebook usage sextupled in 2009 alone, this is becoming an increasingly substantial workplace problem around the globe.
The issue here is that workers are essentially “stealing” work time for their personal use. Companies are paying employees to work at work – not to update their profiles or re-connect with long lost romantic interests. Employers are not receiving any benefit for employing these social butterflies. What’s worse is there have been a number of cases of employees misusing the site heckling and abusing customers and co-workers during their time on the site resulting in some considerable brand damage. As Facebook and other social networking sites grow in popularity, it is clear that companies will have to instate some rules for Facebook usage while on the job and online
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