ONE in five job-seekers would turn down a job offer if they did not have reasonable access to Facebook at work, a new study shows.
Research conducted by recruitment firm Hays found that half of Aussie workers access social media at work for personal reasons.
Of these, 13.3 per cent said they access it daily, while 36.4 per cent access it occasionally.
Hays regional director Shane Little said the majority of workers felt that social media was an important part of their lives, and expected to be able to access such sites at work.
?Employees want to be treated as mature, responsible people,? Mr Little said.
?I think it is a bit of the big brother approach that they don?t want to see - being told how to run their lives.?
Mr Little said employers faced two challenges with social media; the impact had on their brand, and the impact it had on productivity.
But he said trying to restrict employees on social media was a thing of the past.
?It?s part of the world we live in,? Mr Little said.
?There was a time when employees couldn?t answer phones during their workday - times have changed.?
The research found that most employers allowed staff some access to Facebook and Twitter at work, and 44.3 per cent believed that allowing employees to access social media at work would improve their retention levels.
One third of employers (33.2 per cent) allow their employees access at work, 43.2 per cent allow limited access, and 23.7 per cent restrict access completely.
Mr Little said that forward thinking companies allowed employees unlimited access, but these companies were in the minority.
?They let people use it at any time of the day with the expectation that people use it sensibly and it doesn?t impact their productivity,? he said.
Other companies allow workers to use it at different times of the day, such as before work, at lunchtime or at the end of the day, he said.
Large Australian organisations such as Ernst & Young and Westpac allow their employees total access to social media at work.
Ernst & Young has a global policy around what can be said on social media designed to protect the firm from ?potential reputation issues?.
But the firm allows employees access to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter at work.
?We recognise social media is changing the way we communicate, share ideas and interact both inside and outside our organisation,? an Ernst & Young spokeswoman said.
A Westpac spokeswoman said the company?s social media policy was similar to its other policies surrounding the personal use of technology.
Employees are limited to a ?reasonable? amount of personal use, and are trusted to manage their time on Facebook and Twitter responsibly.
?Especially in an office environment, it?s noticeable if it?s on your screen all day,? the spokeswoman said.
The study also found that more than half of employees (56.3 per cent) who said they accessed social media at work for personal reasons used company equipment to do so.
Mr Little said larger organisations with sophisticated IT systems could monitor their employees internet usage, including the sites they accessed and how long they accessed them for.
?In those situations [the employees] are aware they are being monitored,? he said.
But Mr Little said a typical medium-sized enterprise doesn?t have the capacity to monitor their staff.
?If they grant access they?re relying upon the mature approach of their staff,? he said.
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