A recent survey by Clearswift and Yougov shows that 59% of all employees aged 18-29 believe that they should be able to use Web 2.0 social networking sites for their personal use during work time and using corporate computers.

This is certainly a shifting tide from the corporate culture of a bygone past when your time was the company’s time, and you spent all day doing company work. But is this a bad thing?

There are benefits to allowing employees to use the web for personal business during work hours. To expect almost any employee to work for eight hours straight (or even four hours straight, then an hour for lunch, and then four hours straight) is, almost without exception, unrealistic. The average person’s attention span is somewhere between 50 and 55 minutes, and beyond that, concentration and results decline. They will need to take a break somehow. Many of them will use the time wisely and take care of other business which then eliminates a potential worry and allows them to focus on the task at hand.

There are also risks to allowing them to use the web for personal use. One is the possibility of using social networking sites to air corporate dirty laundry. After all, if something has happened which the employee disagrees with, then it’s a simple matter to anonymously log into a social networking site and begin griping. That’s life. They’re going to gripe sometimes, and to hide from the negative side of management is disregarding a duty.

Where the line must exist is in giving away company secrets. However, that needs to be handled up front with non-disclosure agreements and employment agreements. Establish the rules and the punishments for failing to abide by the rules up front. Trying to stifle a leak later is a calamitous exercise.

Companies that fail to embrace web 2.0′s social networking powers are missing out on a great opportunity, particularly if they fail to do so out of fear of the airing of problems. Let others see a true picture of the company, and if it is one that does good work and takes care of its people, then an internal uprising of good words will quell the occasional disgruntled posting. Trying to overly monitor activity and stifle what is being said about a company is an Orwellian road to failure. Instead, focus on creating a good environment where people get to do the work that they enjoy and want to say positive things about the company.

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