It just surprised me early in the morning I logged in to my Facebook and came across a friend throwing in a debate on whether Facebook should be banned for employees? And I sided with keeping thee social network open for it does more good than wrong. All depends how you put it for the employees at work place. However I was taken a back when I read Nick’s post stating that it costs employers more than $2.25 Billion. Wow, that’s big! Very big indeed given that while firms suffer losses worth billions, Facebook itself is only predicted to make revenues worth a Billion dollars in the coming year.

Now, I personally think that the need to socialize with a large and more importantly a diverse group is actually very positive for the employee himself. Though I am not very active on Facebook while the Sun is up, but to have a thought that I can access it anytime sooths me as I break away from routine and have a quick update on what’s happening around and return fresh to work. But misuse is what really drives me nuts as well. Trust me the social network has been blocked in our workplace primarily owing to the fact that many employees were found spending excessive time on games like Farmville, Mafia Wars, etc, which sums up the fact that they are addictive and don’t actually help the cause of having the network accessible. Change scenario bring in a person whose job is to communicate with people and share ideas.

But again the argument stands up, should it be made accessible for all when only a small group is utilizing it? No, the issue is the authorities need to find a way to have employees engage effectively across the social network. A downright ban for all is harsh for those who do utilize it. Again I will quote Nick here and disagree with him when he says that people are bound to lose focus because there is so much to do online.

I personally think there must be some customization that blocks access to time wasting applications. Seriously wish that could be done to only allow access to Facebook. As for employers calling Facebook the only reason for losses. Well, the Web is full of destinations where they can do that and Facebook is just one and with each employee smart enough to use alternatives [kproxy, etc], blocking Facebook isn’t that good a choice. What I personally think should be done is let employees use the social network at particular time slots, like during breaks, etc. Or even more important, show them the positive side of using Facebook to build connections instead of wasting time.

What is your take on: To Ban Or Not To Ban? Please leave your answers in comments.

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