Blocking Social Media at Work
A common practice among many employers/organizations in the MENA region (as well as all over the world) is to block access to social media networking sites. Even with the emergence of the importance of having access to Social Media networks (SMN) in the workplace, for various reasons, some employers don’t seem to be quite convinced yet of the benefits. Yes, there are quite a few.
The major thing it says to an employee when a company bans the use of SMN and free Internet surfing is that they, in fact, think of you as a child, or an idiot, or both perhaps. Not an adult that is there to perform his or her job because you are fully capable of doing so, without having a chaperone holding your hand. With the rampant use of all sorts of smart phones nowadays, anyone can check their Facebook and other Social Networks on their BB’s, IPhones and other devices. It must be said though that in some cases, some employees do ‘use and abuse’ said privilege. However, in most cases the pros outweigh the cons.
Studies have been done showing that when employees take a break from work, surf the net, and spend a few minutes on FB or twitter, their morale and self esteem actually increases. Also, as far as marketing for your company goes, Social Media is proven to be one of the most effective means of doing just that, for a much cheaper rate than other marketing means. There is no better way to learn the ins and outs of Social Media Marketing than to actually use it on a daily basis, whether on a personal or professional basis.
Blocking these Social Networks may mean missing many opportunities for lots of productive and collaborative work in these organizations. There is always a small percentage of people that will waste way too much time on these platforms doing nothing productive, but there are way more people that can actually benefit from having free access to them. Don’t you think?
