We live in  a day and age where the lines between our social life, our purchasing life and our work life are becoming more and more blurred because of the ever increasing hold that social media is taking a hold in our lives.

As a worker we are continually bombarded with what is happening in the world, in the lives of our friends and through all forms of online advertising and alerts. And as employers we are presented with the challenge – should we create an environment that is totally devoid of this interference, or should we encourage our staff to engage?

New research shows almost three quarters of Australian workers say ‘watching YouTube’ is the most common online activity at work. The survey from Dynamic Business Magazine also shows more than a third of Australians spend at least an hour on Facebook while at work.

‘Many of us are in front of a computer for the majority of our work day, often in our own cubicles or offices and now we know what’s really going on,’ said DBM’s Jen Bishop. ‘This kind of online activity is often generated by emails we receive promoting sales or new products, emails about new messages or posts on Facebook or friends emailing about new YouTube videos we just have to watch.’

But a Melbourne University study recently suggested productivity improves among staff who have more freedom to surf the net. The study of 300 workers found productivity rose 9% among those free to surf compared with those who were not.

Source Material: The Courier Mail