Staff face rules on social media use

Workplaces in the Bay are cracking down on the use of time-wasting websites in company time but social networking fans are still getting their fix at lunchtime.
The popularity of sites like Facebook, Bebo, Trade Me and YouTube has forced businesses to look at how they allow staff to access the internet.
But experts have warned against alienating Generation Y workers by over-policing computer use.
The Bay of Plenty Times spoke to some of the region's big employers and found a range of attitudes to personal internet use.
At Tauranga City Council, sites such as Facebook, Bebo, YouTube and Trade Me have been blocked since August 2007.
Spokesman Marcel Currin said the only exception was for staff who needed access to the sites for work reasons. The council had used Facebook in cases such as community consultation over liquor bans, he said.
"It's the exception rather than the rule. Staff can easily go to the library and use the computers there at lunchtime."
TrustPower has offered staff a compromise - although personal sites are banned from their desk computers, they can access them during breaks.
"We have some computers set up in our staff-room so that staff can go and access them in their lunch break, and before and after work and at break times, in a common space," community relations co-ordinator Pip Tschudin said.
"They are always used and very popular."
At Zespri, staff have access to websites like Facebook and there are no strict rules about how much time they can spend on the sites.
"We expect them to act appropriately, and monitor that behaviour, and will take action if we have found necessary," communications manager Melanie Palmer said.
Workers who can't access their Facebook, personal emails or internet banking are taking advantage of computers at Tauranga Library and internet cafes during their breaks.
Tauranga Library information team leader Leslie Goodliffe said he had even seen people rushing in to check a Trade Me auction before it closed.
"We do get people from the council coming in to use the internet on lunch breaks or tea breaks," Mr Goodliffe said.
At The Gateway Cyber Cafe Limited on Devonport Rd, owner Greg Kindell said half of all clients using the internet were locals.
"We get a lot of people popping in. We do have a lot of people using Facebook, YouTube and checking their emails."
It turns out allowing staff to access social networking websites could actually be good for business.
New research by the University of Melbourne showed that enjoyable breaks were more likely to boost productivity.
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Max Mason was not surprised by the finding.
"In my experience, where there's a give and take with employees, and if the employer is willing to trust the employee a little bit, they are going to get that respect back, and get a little bit of extra commitment to the business.
"They will go the extra mile as well. If they can do their banking or send a couple of personal emails during a break, they are much more likely to work a bit later than leave on the dot of five.
"That's the majority of people - obviously there are people who abuse things like that."
Mr Mason described Facebook as "the big culprit" in terms of internet time-wasting.
He believed policies of personal internet use should depend on the nature of the workplace, rather than being a "one size fits all" policy.
He believed most employers would expect workers to send the odd private email or spend a couple of minutes a day on websites for personal use.
And he warned the Generation Y workers tended to "react negatively" to being overly controlled.
"For them, it's better to have a balanced internet use policy. Some simply won't work for an organisation that doesn't allow any personal internet usage.
"Skills shortages will be an issue soon enough and employers need to be mindful of how they are seen in the marketplace."
And Mr Mason warned that policing employee use of the internet was becoming costly.
He said random checks of usage, with clear feedback messages if the internet is being abused, were effective.