question please 14

[netnerdnerd9]

Hi this question is for the experts as I am not an expert.

I am wondering , if anyone can tell me the regulations with regard to making use of social networking sites at work? I work at an i.t company and they come down hard on us what is your feelings in this regard?

 

[CajunCenturion]

My feelings are that while you're at work, you're subject to the policies and procedures of those who are paying you. You're on company time and most likely, using company equipment. They have every right to dictate how their equipment is to be used and not used, and what is and is not acceptable when you're on their dime.


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[Diancecht]

Mine is that you are not a slave, and while you are a worker you are still a person with social and communication needs, and as long as it doesn't affect to your performance, your company has nothing to do or say

Cheers,
Dian

 

[Andrzejek]

making use of social networking sites at work

As you said: "at work" you should be... working.
I know, it is a new idea for many people that the employer is paying you for work, not smoking, hanging around the water cooler, or chatting with people about yesterday's kids game.

Unless 'social networking' is a part of your job. If not, some companies allow to do so before work hours, during the breaks, lunch, or after hours.

Imagine yourself running your own company and employing many people: would you pay your workers to use 'social networking sites' on your time?

Have fun.

---- Andy

 

[MasterRacker]

What employment policies "should" be and what the "are" is two different discussions. While wasting ime on social networks may fall under "pursuit of happiness" is it certainly not some inalienable right that overrides and employers right to direct your work. Any organization has one goal: produce a good or service. They hire you to aid in that effort. Anything else is irrelevant.

If there's no job reason for being on a social network, any competent IT dept should have them blocked at the firewall level anyway.

Jeff
[small][purple]It's never too early to begin preparing for [/purple]International Talk Like a Pirate Day
"The software I buy sucks, The software I write sucks. It's time to give up and have a beer..." - Me[/small]

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> Mine is that you are not a slave
Very true, you are not a slave; they don't own you. However, when you accept employment with a company, you enter into a contractual arrangement. You agree to work for them, perform the assigned tasks, and abide by their rules while on the job. Further, the company most likely owns the Internet connection and they most likely own the workstation. That hardware is not yours to yous as you see fit, when you see fit.

If you feel the need to engage in social networking while on the job, or submit that it's necessary as part of the job, or believe it's required for you to be in the right frame of mind in order to do your job, then sit down with your supervisor. Make your case and if you're successful, then work out a schedule. If not, then follow the rules.

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[SQLSister]

In the US, labor law would favor the company on this one. It is their equipment and their time. Nothing you do on a company computer is privately yours. Ask the many people who have been fired for sending an inappropriate email or surfing the web to an inappropriate site. You do not have the intrinsic right to do non-work related tasks at work on their dime. They have to allow breaks,yes, but they do not have to provide you Internet access to play on those breaks. Leave social networking for after hours.


"NOTHING is more important in a database than integrity." ESquared

 

[flapeyre]

We all get paid to work, not to tweet. Such sites can be and sometimes are blocked by management. That's their perogative.

As others have said, it's the company's resources being used, and they have a right to insist that company resources be used for company business only.

If I feel the urgent need to tweet, I will wait until a break or lunch and use my iPhone. No company resources used. No company time wasted.

-- Francis
Et cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos.

 

[strongm]

>If you feel the need to engage in social networking while on the job, or submit that it's necessary as part of the job, or believe it's required for you to be in the right frame of mind in order to do your job,


In the Uk it is generally recognised that your employer does not own you and that there is a certain amount of personal time (e.g. during a lunch break) in which you can do what you please (e.g. down the local internet cafe). The more enlightened companies allow this personal time to occur on company premises and using company kit - it isn't a right, but it makes snese frankly

 

[kmcferrin]

In the US it is also generally recognized that your employer doesn't own you, but that they do own their equipment and can regulate it's use.

That being said, most companies I've seen rarely crack down on Internet access. They usually block porn, gambling, extremist sites, etc, while generally leaving more mainstream sites unblocked. They do log what sites you hit, but generally it's never brought up unless use of the Internet has become an issue for a specific employer.

As far as social networking sites go, I think that most people would agree that they are a waste of time. However, my employer does make wide use of professional social networking sites liked LinkedIn, and our recruiters also make use of Facebook and Twitter to get information about our company out there.

All that said, it's mostly going to depend on where you work and what the employer says, and it sounds like your employer has spoken. Generally speaking, if you have trouble complying with reasonable requirements from your employer regarding what you do on company time with company resources then you're going to have a difficult time staying employed.

________________________________________
CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Security+
MCTS:Windows 7
MCTS:Hyper-V
MCTS:System Center Virtual Machine Manager
MCTS:Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization
MCSE:Security 2003
MCITP:Server Administrator
MCITP:Enterprise Administrator

 

[flapeyre]

I live a a state where there is "at-will" employment - meaning you can leave at any time, and you can be fired for any (or no) reason (discrimination excepted, of course).

Personal use of the Internet on company time would therefore be a valid reason for termination. Now, in practice, as long as the work gets done, most employers are tolerant.

-- Francis
Et cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos.

 

[Golom]

Suppose "social networking" involved meeting your significant other in the store room to get up close and personal. I don't think anyone would contend that was a legitimate use of company time, regardless of how much it improves your frame of mind.

Twitter, Facebook, et. al. are just less extreme examples of that conduct. They use company equipment, company time and collect company compensation for an activity that does not benefit the company's objectives.

Your employer has no right to enquire into or control what you do with your own money on your own time. They definitely do have such rights when its their money and time.

 

[Glenn9999]

However, my employer does make wide use of professional social networking sites liked LinkedIn, and our recruiters also make use of Facebook and Twitter to get information about our company out there.

And some of the things I read now suggest that using these things are required prerequisites to finding positions. Nothing surprising to me, since most jobs have always been about everything else but whether the applicant can do the job or not.

And if a company expects these things and then does not allow them in the workplace (social networking sites as well as the life of the party social behavior I've witnessed as expectations in my job interviews), then there's a huge credibility problem.

I'm waiting for the white paper entitled "Finding Employment in the Era of Occupational Irrelevancy

 

[Diancecht]

I won't enter the legal aspects, as the vary from country to country and depend a lot on the company policy.

Nowadays, some Internet, let's say "social stuff" has replaced traditional communication ways like phone or letters. I may drop an e-mail instead of sending a fax or may send a message (via Facebook, mail, LinkedIn, MSN Messenger or whatever).

Would you agree a company policy forbidding phone calls would be ethically correct? I don't think so. There's no way to inforce professionalism to someone that isn't a professional. If I want to waste my time, I don't need FB or adult sites, I can just stand looking at flies flying.

So companies have to detect people being unprofessional or wasting times, not chasing after that efficient worker that sent an e-mail to his/her friends telling them he/she is late because he/she is working.

No one, and with no one I mean no one can work all day without a break, that's improductive, so I think some way of entertainment is even good for productivity.

But you can keep being dinosaurs, banning everything that can be assumed to joy or happines, and getting people into cubicles without windows so they will work and work.

Cheers,
Dian

 

[netnerdnerd9]

I understand this and can see that this question brings much heated debate. Do you think people should be allowed on social networking sites during office hours and if so should they be restricted?

 

[flapeyre]

Well, we use filtering software here. I have a Facebook account, a LinkedIn account, and a Twitter account.

Where I work, Facebook is totally blocked, but Twitter isn't. LinkedIn isn't blocked, but the inbox/email part of it is (go figure). I guess the logic is that Twitter isn't too much of a time-waster, but Facebook can be (since they have apps like Farmville). Personally, I use Twitter as an auxiliary news feed, and it can be a part of a business strategy. Facebook - not so much.

-- Francis
Et cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos.

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> There's no way to inforce professionalism to someone that isn't a professional.
That's true, you can't legislate professionalism.

That being said, how many professionals wouldn't already know the answer to this question? And how many professionals would argue a case to support un-professional behavior? Why are they called "social" network sites rather than "professional" network site?

The very fact that restrictions need to be put in place, and that fact that we're actually having this discussion speaks to the lack of professionalism in the workplace. There would be no need for restrictions is you're staffed with professionals, because professionals know when it's appropriate, and even moreso, when it's not appropriate.

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Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[kmcferrin]

No one, and with no one I mean no one can work all day without a break, that's improductive, so I think some way of entertainment is even good for productivity.

But you can keep being dinosaurs, banning everything that can be assumed to joy or happines, and getting people into cubicles without windows so they will work and work.

I don't argue either of those points, but I think that they are largely irrelevant in this case. The employer will set the acceptable use policy as well as determine how it is enforced. What anyone else says about it is irrelevant. You can lobby your employer to change their policies, but if they "come down hard" on users about it you're fighting a losing battle.

Some workplaces are awesome, some suck. What you have to decide is what degree of suckiness you can live with.

________________________________________
CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Security+
MCTS:Windows 7
MCTS:Hyper-V
MCTS:System Center Virtual Machine Manager
MCTS:Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization
MCSE:Security 2003
MCITP:Server Administrator
MCITP:Enterprise Administrator

 

[netnerdnerd9]

I understand all points of view. Put it this way if you had or do have your own company I.T based that was lucrative and effective and you had a big team of staff,what would your personal restrictions or policies be with regard to social networking sites.Bear in mind this is your own company.

 

[flapeyre]

f you had or do have your own company I.T based that was lucrative and effective and you had a big team of staff, what would your personal restrictions or policies be with regard to social networking sites. Bear in mind this is your own company.

Every company has a different corporate culture, so there is no one "fits-all" answer. Personally, I feel that unless it's related to work in some way, then save the social networking for home.

Also, I don't discuss work at all on Facebook or Twitter, even though I have several co-workers on both sites. Easier that way. People have gotten fired for venting on Facebook about their boss or their job in general (disclaimer: I love my job; I've been with the same company for 13 years).



-- Francis
Et cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos.