In a recent blog post about social networking in the workplace, we learned that most teenaged workers nowadays do consider access to social networking sites when looking at a job offer. At first, this sounds like a crazy idea because who would want to care about social networking when it is very difficult to find a job these days? But that's how a teenager's mind works and well know how valuable they can become in your business.
So a couple of these small businesses somehow allow social networking access for workers, considering this as one of the benefits that they could possibly give to the workers. This poses another question, though. How do we know that workplace productivity is not sacrificed when accessing social networks, which tend to be addictive and time-consuming? That is a common problem that most small employers face nowadays.
There are two ways to approach this problem, depending on the productivity of the employee. If you think that the employee is performing below-par, then you might as well call him/her for a long talk on office policies and impose penalties if needed (up to job termination in the worst case). Unless you want your productivity to go down, there's no other choice.
Now, if you think that your employee is still performing well but he/she is already going to the addictive route, there's no need to be so harsh. I personally think that in these instances, it is enough to warn your employee about the potential damage that such addiction could give in the future. It is never too wrong to warn.
Social networking, as a tool, is a double-edged sword. It does help your business leverage itself and put it on top of its peers, but it can also spell the end of productivity of your business. I should know. I've been once addicted to the lures of Facebook and its endless number of applications. Social networking is a tricky "weapon" that you could use, so use it well.
