Trusting staff to use the internet responsibly is key to increasing productivity
Workers should be allowed to use social media at work to improve their engagement and productivity, according to a workplace motivational specialist.
Kevin Harrington, director of Sodexo Motivation Solutions, also suggests staff members should be allowed quick breaks in between meetings to play a game of Sudoku on the internet so they then spend less time surfing when they should be working.
His comments follow figures published by Ofcom, the UK\\\'s independent telecommunications regulator, which found a quarter of people\\\'s days in the UK are spent on social networking sites like Facebook.
"We are all prone to distractions at work, be it surfing the internet for the latest holiday deals, checking Facebook, updating personal blogs or reading the gossip columns," said Harrington in response to the research that also revealed the business social networking site LinkedIn\\\'s user base had grown by 96 per cent, and Twitter\\\'s increased by 56 per since last year.
"Whilst these figures are alarming and may lead managers to think about their employee\\\'s productivity in the office, they should remember that as much as the internet may lead to distractions, it is still vital to allow staff the flexibility to be able to use the internet and other social media tools in the office.
"Sometimes the smallest things can keep employees engaged and ensure they stay with the company. Perhaps allow staff members to go on Facebook or book their holiday during their lunch hour."
The Ofcom survey also found people were increasingly multi-tasking - with the average person cramming almost nine hours of media into just over seven hours during the average day.
"We all recognise that allowing too many distractions at work can be detrimental, but trusting your staff to use the internet appropriately and during the right time periods will mean employees are likely to go that extra mile for their work," concluded Harrington.
Source: Training Journal
