CorpComms Magazine

Almost half of all businesses - 48 per cent - have banned employees from using social networking sites during working hours in a bid to keep their reputations unscathed, a new survey by Lewis Communications and IT company HCL Technologies has found.

Vineet Nayar, chief executive of HCL Technologies, told the Daily Telegraph that such measures will have a damaging effect, adding: 'Banning them outright will impact employees' approach to work in a negative way, having a detrimental effect on the business as a whole.'

He claimed that, by banning social networking usage, bosses are signalling that they do not trust their staff or have faith in their ability to be responsible.

The findings come after the recent revelation of certain court-protected data on Twitter, which has sparked a debate over the legalities of sharing such information. A post on a social networking platform has the ability to go viral in minutes.

With 45 per cent fearing such a prospect, employers attempting to protect themselves from negative press, believe that by prohibiting employees from posting derogatory messages they will avoid any difficulties, according to the study.

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