Social networking sites are costing UK businesses £6.5bn a year in lost productivity, a survey has found.
Information security consultancy Global Secure Systems (GSS) and Infosecurity Europe 2008 questioned 776 office workers, who admitted to spending at least half an hour a day on social networking – which adds up to around three weeks a year.
Many UK businesses estimate that between 15% and 20% of their bandwidth is taken up by social networking, with some believing that their best option is to ban the use of sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo.
In one FTSE100 company, the chief information security officer reported that Facebook alone was using 30% of their bandwidth, with MySpace and eBay consuming an additional 15%.
According to research by Computerweekly.com, 63% of businesses are planning to monitor or limit staff access to social networking sites, with 17% planning to ban all access to them over the next six months.
However, David Hobson, managing director of GSS, said social networking sites are ‘integral’ to the way that many young recruits into the workforce communicate and work.
“For some sectors social networking sites may have a part to play in terms of competitive advantage, for research, or as a marketing tool.”
He added that for many companies, it is a matter of judgement.
“It comes down as a fine balancing act – and mostly a case of introducing a ‘reasonable use’ policy,” he said.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008