Thursday, April 10, 2008
Banning Facebook will be counter-productive for businesses
A new report for the recruitment industry reveals a massive increase in the number of companies that are banning the use of Facebook at work. The survey shows that seven out of ten companies now have banning orders in place to prevent their staff from using Facebook. That's double the number of companies compared with the same time last year.
Bosses are worried that their staff will become distracted from their work. So, rather than make the work more interesting and stimulating, those bosses are resorting to overt control of their employees. Hardly the right way to motivate and gain commitment.
For years, British business in particular has been beset with an "us and them", "bosses vs workers" culture. That divide has caused the collapse of some companies and has seen others face industrial disputes year in, year out. Togetherness, teamwork, all being on the same side - well, say the British bosses, that's namby pamby. The trouble is that study after study shows that a co-operative, free-style culture leads to greater productivity.
So, the banning of Facebook in businesses could well have the reverse effect that company bosses are hoping to achieve. It could demotivate staff from trying to do well for their boss. It could lead them to finding other social networking sites the bosses haven't heard of yet, so can't ban. This distraction in itself could lead to more chaos in the workplace than leaving Facebook available.
But, the biggest problem that British businesses will face is in actually recruiting and retaining younger members of staff. New graduates and people under the age of around 22 actually expect Facebook to be available; they can't believe you can run a business without some use of social networking. So if you ban it they will think you are a bunch of old fuddy-duddies and won't want to work for you. It's worthwhile remembering that recent studies have shown that people under the age of 25 even think email is "for old people".
There is an added problem; around half of current university students do not expect to be employed when they graduate. Not because they won't get a job - but because they don't want one. They want to work for themselves, running their own businesses. And guess what, those businesses will use social networking successfully.
British bosses who ban Facebook are slamming the door in the face of the very people who could help their companies survive the major commercial changes ahead.
Labels: future, internet, internet psychology, social networking
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Readers' Comments:
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April 10, 2008 8:14 AM 
Mari Smith said…
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April 10, 2008 8:52 AM Mark Lee said…
Intriguing observations Graham.
I'd like to offer a related thought. I wonder how much the banning is really a knee-jerk reaction with employers following press stories without thinking through the consequences of their actions?
Years ago it was ‘No personal phone calls’. Then with the advent of the internet it became ‘No personal emails’. More recently, ‘No instant messaging (eg: MSN/Skype)’ and ‘No texting’. Fear of the unknown perhaps? Fear of technology we don’t understand or use ourselves?
In practice restrictions like these are often imposed by responsible employers to ensure their staff do not steal time for which they are paid to work. Personnel handbooks make clear that non-business activities should be avoided during the working day but in reality as long as no one takes liberties, no one makes a fuss.
The same rules should simply be applied to posting, emailing and communicating on social networks as this is no different really. And we must remember that Facebook is just one such site out of over 600 such sites that currently exist in the UK - and there are new ones every day.
Total bans on accessing one or more such sites will be as counter-productive as would be confiscating all mobile phones from staff to prevent them reading and sending personal text messages.
In 'my world' in the same way that some clients now text info to their accountants, so there is an increasing cross-over between work and social networking sites. This further complicates the position too. I tend to think of them as simply online networking sites. In so far as we look to generate referrals, introductions and work from our networking activities we have to explore how to make the most of these online facilities too.
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April 11, 2008 9:33 PM 
Jeremy Jacobs said…
Graham
I think we both did a post about this last year. Kent County Council caused a stir by banning Facebook.
Great post, Graham. I just made a comment over on your Facebook imported Note too.
I agree wholeheartedly with what you say. I think all businesses owe it to themselves to assign staff members to at least research more about social media, Facebook in particular, and explore new ways of doing business online.
Actually, one of the many things Facebook is becoming for me is my giant, dynamic, organic rolodex. I couldn't live without it!
And, I'm thinking we'll soon relate to people without a Facebook Profile/Page the same as we do/did to people without faxes, email addresses, cell phone numbers... stuck in the dark ages. :D