More than half of British workers confessed to accessing social media profiles at work, with many spending so much time ‘friending’, ‘tweeting’, adding photos and video, as well as updating their profiles that companies' productivity was suffering as a result.
MyJobGroup polled 1,000 UK workers and found nearly 6%, or two million, of the UK's 34 million-strong workforce spent over an hour per day on social media while at work, amounting to more than one eighth of their entire working day.
The survey also revealed more than half (55%) of the UK's working population now accesses social media while at work, with a third of those (roughly six million) spending more than 30 minutes on the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Myspace.
In spite of the negative effects on the UK's economy in the midst of a fragile recovery, many polled were in denial about the ill-effects of social media on their efficiency. Only 14% of respondents admitted to being less productive as a result of social media and 10% even claimed social media had made them more productive.
And over two thirds (68%) of employers advocate some form of access during working hours. Only one third wanted sites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube barred during work time, demonstrating the growing importance of social media in Britons' daily routine and the widespread resistance to its access being limited.
Lee Fayer, managing director of Myjobgroup, said: "Our results clearly show that UK workers are spending increased time while at work on social media networks which, left unchecked, could have negative repercussions on the productivity of many companies across the country.
"While we're certainly not kill-joys, people spending over an hour per day in work time on the likes of Facebook and Twitter are seriously hampering companies' efforts to boost productivity, which is more important than ever given the fragile state of our economy.
"Companies would do well to monitor use of social networking sites during work hours and ensure that their employees are not abusing their freedom of access to these sites."
