The Social Life: Using social media at work

Alison King says its all about being sensible when using social media at work. Photo/Thinkstock.

Social media in the workplace - it's an oxymoron if you think about it. If you're at work, you're not supposed to be social but times have changed and we are seeing more use of social media among businesses.

Top brands employ staff to run their social media campaigns and most small businesses have a Facebook presence. Some started as Facebook-only businesses and have since grown to include web-based stores or even a bricks and mortar presence.

Not everyone can have a Facebook focus, so how do you maintain that work-balance and not lose productivity?

Some workplaces have strict internet policies where anything that is even considered to be social media is blocked.

Others are more lenient.

It all depends on what the job is and whether social media has a place.

I'm sure customers at the supermarket checkout would kick up a stink if their transaction was held up while the operator replied to a message, or that there would be some disgruntled clients should lawyers include Facebooking time into their bill.

It's about being sensible and not breaching your employer's trust in you. Use your breaks to check up on your phone or take lunch at your desk. Your work may require social media interaction, just don't abuse it, or else you could see your internet privileges removed.

Here at the Rotorua Daily Post, we all have Facebook access (and that probably goes for every newsroom up and down the country). But we don't spend our days playing Candy Crush or inviting others to play Farmville - or whatever the game-du-jour is at the time.

You may have seen our newspaper's Facebook page, or even follow us on Twitter.

We use Facebook to share our work - the stories that have already been published, as well as seek potential interviewees for upcoming stories. It's a valuable tool in learning who our audience and we like to hear from you.

Like our page and become part of our online community. You can find us at www.facebook.com/RotoruaDailyPost.