Are most of your friends on Facebook.com your work-related contacts? Do you find yourself Googling any jargon or an address you need to know? Now imagine your office putting an end to, or even a check on, the Internet services on your computer. Recently, the home ministry banned its officials and staff from accessing social networking sites such as Google and Facebook on official computers after it received fresh reports of cyber espionage attacks on sensitive government installations.

While security was the reason quoted by the ministry, there are several private companies that don’t allow, or restrict, Facebook and Twitter usage in their offices. When most think it is impossible to work without these major tools of communication and networking, employers feel there is a need to strike a balance.
Aashima, who works with a media organisation, surprises her friends when she tells them that her workstation doesn’t have an Internet connection. “We were told that staff members had been indulging in excessive networking on the Internet,” she says. “But I can’t imagine being absent from the social scene on the cyber world. Social networking is essential for my work,” says Aashima, who’s even contemplating a change of job for this reason.
While few companies have completely banned social networking in the office, others are keeping a close watch on the usage patterns.
Nothing annoys Neha Pushikaran more than her manager constantly hovering behind her to keep a check on her Internet activity. “He is forever there, looking at who you are chatting with, and what you are searching for on Google,” says Neha, who is a marketing executive with a Gurgaon-based MNC.
The usage of social media in the office has two aspects to it, according to Anisha Motwani, director and chief marketing officer, Max New York. “It can be constructive professional usage which is more work-related, and should be encouraged. And then there is personal usage, wherein an employee is not only wasting his duty time, but is also misusing office resources,” she says. But Anisha agrees that putting a blanket ban on the social media can’t be a wise idea. Monitoring each and every employee in a huge set-up is not possible, she says. “Employees need to be aware of what people are talking about the brand, but then self-regulation is where the key lies,” she adds.
“We were told that software have been installed in our computers through which they keep track of time spent on a particular website, but as of now no one has been cornered. And those of us who are forever shopping, chatting for fun and killing time on the Internet are having a good time,” says Beny Sachdeva, a young professional.
According to Shiv Sood, director, United Overseas HR Consultancy social networking sites, being highly addictive can bring a marked dip in the performance of the employees, and that’s why companies are taking restrictive steps. “Many companies, instead of providing social media facilities on the workstations of employees, have set up small kiosks where employees sit and chat in their free time,” he says, justifying the restrictions.