When Social Networking Gets in the Way of Work

You've made your profiles private and taken all of the necessary steps to educate and protect yourself against the dangers of using Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. But how do you protect yourself when social networking gets in the way of work? Without even realizing it's happening, your productivity levels can decrease, success can falter or you could even get fired because of Facebook.

The view of social networking in the workplace varies among different companies. While some businesses optimize use of Facebook and Twitter for marketing and networking purposes there are others still that do not condone the use of social networking sites. Unquestionably, the benefits to be reaped by social networking in the workplace are numerous, but there are potential dangers to watch out for as well.

When Social Networking Becomes Obsession

Maybe you know one or perhaps you are one, but we've all met someone who is obsessed with Facebook, Tumblr or Twitter. Every aspect of his or her daily life is recorded on the website and there is a constant flow of text message and email updates plaguing daily life. Because these websites do such a great job at making you feel as though you are truly connected with the world, the potential to become hooked on them is significantly increased. Look at it this way: if you're spending 2-3 hours per day between the computer and using your phone for Facebook, you're losing more than 600 hours per year of productivity. It may not seem like much now, but those numbers really at up at the end of the year when you consider the work that could have been done instead.

When social networking gets in the way of work the best thing that you can do for yourself is set some boundaries. Allow yourself 30 minutes each morning to check in with all of your Twitter or Tumblr updates and then avoid them until your work shift is over. You may tell yourself that "it will just take a minute" but the truth is you never know what you might see on your news feed. With that said, the chances of you logging in and seeing something that triggers your urge to respond is high. And when you are supposed to be working instead of using Facebook at work, you are essentially losing valuable minutes of productivity.

If social networking websites really become a problem at work, limit your news feed updates to those which are truly of importance. From your account and privacy settings, alter the names of friends that you want to receive updates from. Cutting out the nonsense posts that are leading to lost work can help prevent you from responding to them. You'll still be able to access everyone's updates, but if they aren't in your news feed you will have to go to each individual profile. Because this can cause frustration, it will effectively keep your productivity protected.