Does social media at the office affect productivity?

Should social media usage be banned at the workplace? Does it affect your employees’ productivity? As a manager, start by looking at your feelings about such online activities at work. Ask yourself if you would be concerned if people have personal phone calls or schedule appointments with contractors, delivery people or doctors.

Analyse your work environment, as well, particularly in terms of the day-to-day pressure and the opportunity to take breaks. This can be challenging for people who are generally deskbound and working on a computer all day, so observe whether your team members are getting away from their desks or if they may be taking “online breaks.” How do you assess whether you have an issue with a particular individual? If someone isn’t pulling their weight, it shouldn’t really matter whether it’s because they’re burning up hours chatting with a co-worker or wasting time online.

Your options range from complete restriction from using these sites to a completely laissez-faire approach. You’ll likely be most successful if you seek some middle ground. For instance, you may allow team members to use social media with some sensible limitations. If they are online so much that it’s interfering with productivity, address it on a case-by-case basis. You may want to ask for cooperation for a “no-online” zone if, say, clients are in the office.

If you want to ensure that people are getting their muchneeded respite from work during the day, encourage some movement away from their desks. However, online time may provide the mental break that they need. With the growth in popularity of social media, this is a common issue in the workplace. Develop standards that focus on ensuring that your team’s work gets done, and gets done well, and concentrate on correcting exceptions when they occur rather than limiting everyone’s online activity.