Social Networking at Work Costs Employers Big Bucks

So there you are at work with the computer right in front of you. The browser is already up because you were doing some research for your boss. What would be the harm in quickly checking in with Facebook or maybe Twitter? Then why not check your email. It will only take a few seconds more. Oh, but there's that quick reply you have to dash off to your friend. O.K., so what's the harm in spending just a few seconds more tending to personal matters. Before you close down your browser, you remember that you thought of a really funny status update you wanted to post. Back to Facebook. You'll be done in a jiffy. By the time you close down your browser, you've spent more than fifteen minutes not working — make that 20.

Your social networking activity could be costing your employer a lot of money. Morse plc, a U.K. company, released the results of a survey that indicated U.K. businesses are losing £1.38 billion each year because of their employees' use of social networking sites at work. I wonder how much would be added to that figure if you also included other online activities, such as checking email and shopping. Half of the 1,460 office workers who were surveyed admitted to spending "40 minutes on these sites each week, equating to just under a full working week being wasted each year by employees using social networking sites at work." They don't think they are as bad as their colleagues who, they reported (in a classic case of pot meet kettle), spend almost an hour a day on these sites.

More About Internet Use at Work

• Surfing the Net on Your Boss's Time
• Electronic Monitoring at Work