Should you block Facebook at work?

[powerpuff]

Some companies do it because it's considered an entertainment site, security hazard, or something not work-related. Other companies consider Facebook an essential part of marketing-- to network with others. What do you think?

[DesignMyBox]

Nooooo don't block it! What will I do during lunch?

As long as the site is monitored & the employees use the site moderately & responsibly, I don't think it should be banned. Plus, you can always update about your site or promote a new post on FB, thereby getting traffic on your site, if you want that.

ORIGINAL: powerpuff

Other companies consider Facebook an essential part of marketing-- to network with others.

I agree with this. And FB is also an essential part of keeping the employees happy. I'm sure many people's happiness & energy quotient will go down when they can't surf the most popular social networking site.

Maybe ban it throughout the day except for a couple of hours in the afternoon & after, say, 5 PM?
One can see this as professional reference rather than personal entertainment, eh.

P.S: Did your office block FB?

[coradesigns]

I agree that the happiness and contentment of the employees are of utmost importance and banning Facebbok from work may definitely result into a decline in these aspects but I also have heard of stories of employees not being able to do anything productive because they got stuck playing Farmville or some other Facebook game (because the truth is, these games are very addicting).

Is there a way to block these apps and not block the whole interface of Facebook? Either that, or I agree with the poster above me: allow only certain hours of the day for Facebook usage. That would be a good compromise, ain't it?

[NoDecafHere]

Facebook should never be blocked. Granted, there is a certain level of trust that is bestowed upon employees, but it should never be blocked. In this day and age, employees should be empowered to engage with their company's online presence. And personally, I think employees should be allowed some degree of time to browse their personal Facebook pages at work. It's a nice break from the daily grind, and it's a bit ridiculous to try and limit employee interaction only to the company page.

[Graphix]

Well, like any site that can be seen as a distraction, it's really up to you.

Facebook is the most popular time waster in many offices, but in all honesty people will always find a way to waste time at work.

In my opinion, it should come down to the integrity of your employees and your work practices instead of blocking sites, but that's just me. If you're worried about employees spending too much time on non work related sites it may be time to bring it up with them instead of blocking the sites.

[Ampersand]

I can certainly see why employers don't want to be paying their employees to upload vacation photos to Facebook and play FarmVille at work.

At my work Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites are an important part of what we do for clients. A lot of our work involves public and media relations, plus a lot of marketing. Since our clients' customers are on these social media sites, we have to be there too. For that matter, not too long ago, we hired our first full-time social media person. She actually gets paid to spend her day on Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, various forums and most anything else where there's an opportunity to influence our clients' target audiences.