The Unproductive Fallacy

The case for unfettered employee access to social networks in the workplace is compelling.

Team collaboration...creativity and idea creation…office morale…all typically receive a spark from empowering staff to engage in online communities such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIin and Govloop.

Yet, a myriad of executives at commercial and government organizations hold tight to the mistaken notion that social media in the office is cancerous. For instance, a survey conducted last year by Robert Half Technology found that 55 percent of employers banned all access to social networking sites.

While legitimate security concerns related to data leaks, viruses and malware are often cited, right up there on the list of “why we block” is the rationale that social media breeds a lack of productivity.

This is simply not true. I have personally found that an organization that treats its employees like mature and experienced professionals is rewarded with a workforce committed to performance and success.

Several years ago Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) adopted a core principle to promote and support a healthy work/life balance for all employees. More than a work from home policy, we view the job as something you do, rather than a place you go. Our employees work where they want, when they want and how they want.

My role as CEO is to be clear and consistent on expectations, and then hold my colleagues accountable for performance.

We had some staffers flame out in this environment. One account executive chose to spend time on his own consulting endeavors. A sales rep simply stopped working all together. Both are no longer employed at Strategic.

Yet, by and large, this flexible work environment has been one of our wisest decisions as a company.

This same philosophy of treating adults like…well…adults applies equally to social media access in the workplace. Yes, there may be some who abuse the system by passing their time on trivial pursuits. The performance review process should weed them out.

Executives should demand the doors to social media be thrown open. Give them Facebook. Allow them to tweet. Embrace LinkedIn. Network on Govloop.

You’ll be rewarded with more than a thanks. You will also realize a measurable return in productivity, creativity and, ultimately, revenue and profit.