Facebook Slackers

At work today I had to post a job opening online. In the description I was tempted to write "Candidate must be motivated, able to work independently and not be on Facebook all day!" I didn't write this but nowadays I think it's neccessary to mention to all new employees. In my experience it seems like most people, particularly those under that age of 25, find it acceptable to be slacking on the job as long as they're using this time to update their Facebook status. The last three interns we had were literally on Facebook every time I passed by their computer.

Could this unacceptable work attitude be the result of reinforced behavior by schools and universities?

According to the BBC, Bournemouth University students are complaining they cannot get enough work done because fellow students are hogging computers to use Facebook and Twitter. But get this, according to the article, university officials say social networking sites are also sometimes used for legitimate academic reasons and they are therefore unable to block the sites.

"I come into university at 0900 to work on my dissertation thinking I've beaten the crowd to the computers, and I still can't get on them because people are on Facebook," said Miguel Dias.

In my opinion, sites like Facebook and Twitter, should be blocked on all school and work computers. But unfortunately, the reality is that Facebook is often used as a means of sharing course-related material. I've actually been forced to use it on occassion for work-related assigments.

And don't get me wrong. I do my fair share of internet cruising while at work. A new study by the University of Melbourne even confirmed people who use the Internet for personal reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive that those who do not. All I'm saying is that people should show some discretion and self-control while on the job, at school or in a public area where demand for computers is high. Be respectful!