Some managers may need to keep a closer eye on their workforce to check they are doing what the get paid to do, as new research by a money saving website in the UK has revealed that UK adults in full time employment spend more time on social networks when they are supposed to be working that they do at home.
Those surveyed admitted to spending up to 1.5 hours per day on social network sites whilst they were supposed to be working; or 7.5 hours per week, which in most cases is an entire working day.
The most common times for switching on to social networks at work was between 10am and 11am and 3pm and 4pm.
When asked about their social networking usage in their free time, the average respondent claimed to spend 45 minutes per day on social networks; or ‘5.25 hours’ in a week. That means that most adults in full time employment spend more time on social networks when they should be working that they do at home or in their free time.
Of all the respondents that did admit to spending more time on social networks when they should have in fact been working, 46 per cent blamed ‘ease of discreet access’ through phones and on their computers as the main reason.
George Charles, marketing director at VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, who commissioned the survey said: “Particularly for those with office-based jobs, it’s not difficult to see why they might get tempted to access their social network profiles when they should be working. Especially with the introduction of things like Tweet Deck and Facebook’s push notifications, it’s actually harder than ever to switch off.
“What employees do need to be careful of is their boss finding out they aren’t working when they thought they were. Perhaps it’s best to leave social networking for lunch breaks and after work!”
