Whistle -- But Don't Tweet -- While You Work: a Majority of Companies Prohibit Social Networking on the Job, CIO Survey Reveals

Whistle -- But Don't Tweet -- While You Work: a Majority of Companies Prohibit
Social Networking on the Job, CIO Survey Reveals

MENLO PARK, Calif., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Workers who want to share the
latest news with Facebook friends and Twitter followers will need to wait
until after hours or risk violating company policy, a new survey suggests.
More than half (54 percent) of chief information officers (CIOs) interviewed
recently said their firms do not allow employees to visit social networking
sites for any reason while at work.

The survey was developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of
information technology (IT) professionals on a project and full-time basis,
and conducted by an independent research firm. It was based on telephone
interviews with more than 1,400 CIOs from companies across the United States
with 100 or more employees.

CIOs were asked, "Which of the following most closely describes your company's
policy on visiting social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace and
Twitter, while at work?"

Their responses:

Prohibited completely 54%
Permitted for business purposes only 19%
Permitted for limited personal use 16%
Permitted for any type of personal use. 10%
Don't know/no answer 1%
---
100%

"Using social networking sites may divert employees' attention away from more
pressing priorities, so it's understandable that some companies limit access,"
said Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology. "For some
professions, however, these sites can be leveraged as effective business
tools, which may be why about one in five companies allows their use for
work-related purposes."

Willmer cautioned that employees should always exercise good judgment, no
matter how lenient their company's policy. "Professionals should let common
sense prevail when using Facebook and similar sites -- even outside of
business hours," he said. "Regrettable posts can be a career liability."

Robert Half Technology offers the following tips for protecting your
professional reputation when using social networking sites:
-- Know what's allowed. Make sure you understand and adhere to your
company's social networking policy.
-- Use caution. Be familiar with each site's privacy settings to ensure
personal details or photos you post can be viewed only by people you
choose.
-- Keep it professional. Use social networking sites while at work to
make
connections with others in your field or follow industry news -- not
to
catch up with family or friends.
-- Stay positive. Avoid complaining about your manager and coworkers.
Once
you've hit submit or send, you can't always take back your words --
and
there's a chance they could be read by the very people you're
criticizing.
-- Polish your image. Tweet or blog about a topic related to your
profession. You'll build a reputation as a subject matter expert,
which
could help you advance in your career.

-- Monitor yourself. Even if your employer has a liberal policy about
social networking, limit the time you spend checking your Facebook
page
or reading other people's tweets to avoid a productivity drain.

About the Survey
The national survey was developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading
provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis, and conducted
by an independent research firm. The survey is based on more than 1,400
telephone interviews with CIOs from a random sample of U.S. companies with 100
or more employees. In order for the survey to be statistically representative,
the sample was stratified by geographic region, industry and number of
employees. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper proportions of
the number of employees within each region. The margin of error for this study
is +/- 2.6 percent at the 95 percent level of confidence.

About Robert Half Technology
With more than 100 locations worldwide, Robert Half Technology is a leading
provider of technology professionals for initiatives ranging from web
development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and
technical support. Robert Half Technology offers online job search services at
www.rht.com.

SOURCE Robert Half Technology

Christine Pardi of Robert Half Technology, +1-650-234-6435,
christine.pardi@rhi.com