In an August 11 article in Bank Info Security, Upasana Gupta writes that it’s impossible to overestimate the impact of social media.
Popular sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have had a phenomenal impact in the workplace – both as a corporate channel for communication and marketing, as well as a vehicle for employees to communicate both professionally and personally.
The latter is a key point. According to a new survey conducted by Trend Micro, employees increasingly are using social networks while in the office and on the clock.
It is debatable how much the rise in social networking has compromised employee productivity, but it’s indisputable that much of this activity is occurring in the absence of formal policies.
“In its simplest terms, there is anarchy in the absence of social media policy and training,” says John Pironti, ISACA board member and president of IP Architects, LLC. “Without proper direction and clarity, it is hard to enforce appropriate consequences on someone.”
Because of this anarchy, organizations are starting to take action. Fear of compromised productivity, reputational damage, data loss and inappropriate behavior is leading many employers to introduce strict controls on staff access to social media sites. Robert Half Technology, an IT staffing company, recently reported that 54 percent of U.S. companies have banned workers from using social networking sites while on the job. The study found that 19 percent of companies allow social networking use only for business purposes, while 16 percent allow limited personal use.
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