RSSHow effective is prohibiting social networks at work?
First, an aside: don’t think I wasn’t thinking of some flashy, impressive title like “Half Reports Half of CIOs block social networking sites!” for this… aren’t you glad I restrained myself?
But that is the gist of the story; a recent Robert Half survey reports that 54% of CIO respondents indicated that they completely prohibit social networking sites on their systems. A further 19% prohibit any personal use of social networking sites, while allowing business use.
None of this is surprising, or even particularly interesting. What would be interesting is a question the survey apparently didn’t ask: “Do you think that is actually working?”
Judging by Facebook traffic during regular business hours, my guess would be the actual answer is “no.” It would be fascinating to see the responses, however; how many CIOs realize that their policies are so openly flaunted, and how many care? And is there then any point in putting time and effort into crafting such policies? Is it something that the HR department insists on to keep a few handy excuses around for firing troublesome staff?
I’m genuinely curious; I find myself arguing against such policies in most companies with which I consult, but in most of those cases it develops that the people don’t realize how ubiquitous these things are or how silly they look trying to prevent staff from using them. CIOs, I would imagine, would generally know better… but do they, or is there really that much detachment in the ranks of today’s technology leadership.
