Some employers are blocking access to time wasters like Facebook and MySpace
A week or so ago, I sat down at my desk to find a look of panic on the face of one of my coworkers. “They’re blocking Facebook,” she said.
They, of course, are the mysterious men and women who make up our tech support department. Oh no, I thought. This can’t be. I opened my browser and tried to get into Facebook. Nothing.
So there we sat, stunned by the implications. I fired off an email to see if “they” could tell me what was going on. But as it turned out, it was just a bunch of wasted emotion. It was nothing more than the typical Internet glitch. A few minutes passed and the world was right again.
Well, apparently about 25 percent of you aren’t so lucky. Nearly one in four employers are blocking access to social networking sites, according to a survey released today by the Chicago-based job consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
The survey found that most companies (59 percent) don’t actually have any sort of formal policy targeting sites like Facebook and MySpace. In fact, nearly half of them said they were only concerned with whether or not their employees got their work done.
But 23 percent have put their collective feet down, blocking all access to those sites. Interestingly, one-third of the companies surveyed said they considered the sites to be a major drain on worker output. So it’s probably not much of a stretch to think the number of bans is going to grow over time.
“Social networking sites are a relatively new phenomenon, which is why the majority of companies still have no formal policy regarding their use. However, that is changing daily as more companies come to realize both the pros and the cons of giving employees access to these sites,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of job firm.
I’d love to know if any local companies have taken this step? Do you work for someone who won’t let you get into your favorite social networking site? Should access be banned at work?
Tim has covered a wide range of topics, including tourism, crime, aviation and gambling, since becoming a reporter in 1990. The Oklahoma native joined the Post-Dispatch in 2007 after spending nine years in Orlando. In his spare time, he's often exploring one virtual world or another. He can be reached at tbarker@post-dispatch.com. 
Companies need to get over themselves. Blocking sites makes workers less productive. They end up spending time trying to figure a workaround the site, or complaining that they can’t get to it. All it does is p*ss off your employees, what most companies claim to be their most valuable asset. Companies need to realize that life doesn’t stop while their employees are at work. And as long as the work gets done, who cares if they take 5 minutes to check out Facebook or read their personal Yahoo email?