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Petra Luetkewitte
Paderborn
Germany

Postgraduate Student & Freelancer, The University of Sydney, Business School

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How can we prevent that Facebook use during working hours cuts productivity?

A lot of companies are facing the problem that facebook usage during working hours is increasing and cutting productivity. Recently this problem was solved by blocking pages like that in the companies network. With smart phones this issue seems to be out of the companies´s control. One possible solution could be a jammer, that blocks mobile data. But this would be blocking the whole phone line.

What do you think? Is that a problem that has to be addressed? Could blocking phones be a solution or how should this problem be solved?

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Vivek Trivedi 10+
- +1
TED Translator

Mar 26 2012: There are interesting researches going on this topic at various universities, results are somewhat opposite, for example :
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2009/04/reuters_us_work_internet_tech_life

With the penetration of smart-phones and 4G, it is absolutely impossible to disconnect employees from these means of social communications, it surely affects productivity if the employees are not motivated enough towards their work.
Jamming networks is not a sane idea, it may completely disconnect employees from their families during office hours, which will surely be protested.

There has to be some midway, on which researches are still in progress :)
- Petra Luetkewitte
  - 0
  Apr 12 2012: That is an interesting article. Though other article state the opposite:
  
  http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2009-07-25/news/27657633_1_facebook-account-productivity-users
  http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9135795/Study_Facebook_use_cuts_productivity_at_work
  
  I understand, that most employees would protest being robbed of their mobile contact to family and friends. There should be a way how to enable calls and texts, but restrict the mobile data. Or maybe make the mobile use the companies' network, with restrictions to these websites or at least giving the ability for the companies' to monitor their employees' usage.
- Derek van Tilburg
  - 0
  Apr 26 2012: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24781942/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/facebook-work-readers-respond/

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