Social Networking in the
Workplace
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Top 10 Most Popular
Social Networks (Nov. 2010)
Site
Unique Visits
Facebook
133,623,529
MySpace
50,615,444
Twitter
23,573,178
Linkedin
15,475,890
Classmates
14,613,381
MyLife
8,736,352
Ning
6,120,667
LiveJournal
3,834,155
Tagged
3,800,325
Last.fm
3,473,978
Common Mistakes By
Organizations
• First, organizations often fail to implement usage
policies that establish a clear set of guidelines.
• Second, without encouragement, training, and
guidelines, employees are sometimes scared to use
new apps and tools. Other times, employees are
confused about how these new tools work.
• Third, old habits die hard. Many people will continue to
rely on what they know: email and voice mail.
Organizations need to wean themselves from long,
drawn-out email chains and encourage people to
embrace new ways of doing things.
What Potential Benefits Can Social
Networking Tools Provide?
• Preventing overloaded email inboxes
• Allowing more open communication filtered by
relevance. This leads to enhanced information
discovery and, ultimately, knowledge.
• Allowing employees to answer previously
answered questions–and search those answers.
• Allow employees to discuss ideas, post news,
ask questions, and easily share links with one
another.
• Organizations can tap into knowledgeable
resources throughout the company.
One Size Does Not Fit All
• In other words, the benefits of these social
networking apps and tools vary on the
following:
– the type of app deployed
– specific features
– end-users’ familiarity with “web 2.0” tools
– the organization itself
– a host of other “people-related” factors
Phil Simons
• After extensive conversions, I have
reached one less-than-revolutionary
conclusion: Many largely unanswered
questions remain about social networking
in the workplace.
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009
69% of Businesses Allow Social
Media Usage
• Up from 37% in 2007
• 63% are using social media to build and promote their
brand
• 61% are using it to improve communication and
collaboration
• 58% are using it to increase consumer engagement
• Robert Half Technology said 46% of companies allow
access to social networking sites
Social Media Endorsements
– "Organizations, from the top-down, must be open to recognizing
that there are better ways of doing things. Twitter and other social
media have benefits to internal communications that haven't been
explored. In fact, some of them surpass e-mail in efficiency and ease
of communication…We are evolving. Going from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0
is kind of like going from radio to color TV; it's a quantum leap.“
– Steve Prentice, Industrial Psychologist
– "These (Social Media) tools are proving valuable in areas such as
recruitment, public affairs, and quality of life for our military personnel,
as well as sharing information with allies, coalition partners and
military families.“
– William Lynn, US Deputy Secretary of Defense
Top Company Fears
1. Loss of productivity (65.7 percent)
2. Lack of security (45.7 percent)
3. Fear of having inappropriate content
posted (42.9 percent)
•
Source: Enterprise adoption of Web 2.0 technologies, by Awareness, Inc.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/report_businesses_social_media
_usage.php
Loss of Productivity Fear
– “Employees who use the internet for
personal reasons at work are 9% more
productive than those who don’t .”
• “Workplace Internet leisure Browsing," or WILB,
helped to sharpened workers' concentration.
• "People need to zone out for a bit to get back their
concentration”
• "Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf
of the Internet, enables the mind to rest itself,
leading to a higher total net concentration for a days'
work, and as a result, increased productivity,"
• Social media tools can offer a highly advanced and
efficient communication option
–
Source: University of Melbourne study http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5313G220090402
Lack of Security Fear
– Viruses through social media applications such as
the recent City Fire Department Facebook game are
becoming more common but standard online
security prevention practices can mitigate these
risks.
• Remind employees not to click on suspicious
looking links or messages that seem like spam
• Keep and up-to-date antivirus software, operating
system/browser security patches, and updates
• Check security messages (for example,
http://www.facebook.com/security )
Inappropriate Content Fear
• Company stats:
– 17 % of companies disciplined an employee for
violating blog or message board policies.
– Nearly 9% reported terminating an employee for such
a violation (both increases from 2008, 11% and 6%,
respectively).
– 15% have disciplined an employee for violating
multimedia sharing / posting policies in the past 12
months, while 8% reported terminating an employee
for such a violation
– However, only 17% of companies have programs in
place to monitor and mitigate the potential
reputational risks related to the use of social
networks.
•
Source: Proofpoint survey http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Proofpoint-Inc-1027877.html
How To Mitigate Risk
• “The same way it can keep employees from doing stupid
things on email & the phone. Give them guidelines and
resources. Have an online communications policy that
follows standard communications policies and trust them
to do the right thing.”
~Scott Monty, Ford Motor Company
• Make this an opportunity to teach your employees how
to be brand ambassadors
• An existing companies business conduct policy should
cover employee usage on social media sites – if not,
update
• If employees will be blogging, create specific guidelines
•
•
•
•
Sample guidelines:
http://www.intel.com/sites/sitewide/en_US/social-media.htm
http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html
http://jaffeassociates.com/uploads/userfiles/file/Social.pdf
Ethical? Professional Behavior?
SOCIAL NETWORKING IN
SOCIAL SERVICES
Questions Under Debate:
• Should a therapist review the Web site of a
client or conduct an online search without
that client's consent?
• Is it appropriate for a Social Service
Professionals to put personal details about
themselves on a blog or Web site or to join
Facebook or other social networks?
• What are the risks of having clients and
Social Service Professionals interact online?
Important
• Neither the American Psychiatric
Association nor the American
Psychological Association has rules
specifically governing therapists' online
behavior, but ethics advisers with the
psychiatric association maintain that online
searches are not wrong -- as long as
they're done in the patient's interest and
not out of therapist curiosity.
Opinion
• Benjamin, 53, directs psychiatric training at UMass,
and advocates caution when it comes to mixing the
Internet with therapy.
• He says he has never searched a patient's name
online and worries that doing so could dilute the
therapeutic process by bringing in information from
outside the patient-therapist discussion. When patients
have asked Benjamin to read their blogs, he has
agreed, with one caveat: that he do so during a regular
counseling session. "Even if you brought me a
disability form, I'd fill it out in the room with you," says
Benjamin. "I was taught to make the time with the
patient the time when the work is done."
Opinion
• Suena Massey,35, an assistant professor of
psychiatry at George Washington University
Medical Center, considers Googling a patient
a valuable professional tool.
• "One of the duties of a psychiatrist is to
corroborate what patients say," Massey
explains. To that end, online searches can be
helpful when traditional approaches -obtaining the patient's consent to contact his
previous psychiatrist or family members -- are
not available.
“Digital Native”
• Millennial (Gen Y) 1981-2000
• Also labeled the “Internet” generation, they
are the most tech-savvy generation to
date, and they value cutting-edge
technology.
Recommendations
• Make thoughtful decisions about who you accept on your
friends list and thus, grant access to your personal
information.
• Consider using some form of restrictions to your online
profile such as utilizing private or friend-only access or
using a pseudonym.
• Keep in mind that whatever you share online may be
available to numerous individuals and once out there, it
can’t be taken back.
• Consider online relationships as similar to in-person
ones with clients and former clients.
Recommendations, Con’t.
• Don’t overlook the potential impact of online relationships
on the professional one.
• Never access a clients’ personal information without
obtaining permission. Ensure they understand the
potential impact of online disclosures on the
psychotherapy relationship.
• Utilize the APA Ethics Code and consultation with
colleagues to guide decision making.
• Create a policy for the use of social networking sites,
share this with clients who ask and follow it carefully.
•
By Jeffrey E. Barnett, Psy.D.