Social Networks Blamed For $2.25B In Lost Productivity

Short stretches can really accumulate. Did you know, for instance, that if someone comes back from lunch nine or ten minutes late every day, he (or she) will take the equivalent of free week of paid vacation per year? And similarly, one IT services and technology company believes social networking is costing UK businesses $2.25 billion each year.

Morse surveyed 1,460 office workers, and on average, they admitted to spending 40 minutes per week on Twitter, Facebook, and the like. While on the clock, and for personal use. Morse did some multiplying and came up with the figure $2.25 billion (or actually, 1.38 billion – we converted) in lost productivity.

What’s more, Morse tried to make its estimate conservative. It turns out that, when asked about their coworkers, the respondents said they believe the average amount of time spent on social networks is closer to 59 minutes.

Philip Wicks, a consultant at Morse, observed in a statement, "The popularity of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook has grown considerably over the last couple of years, however with it has come the temptation to visit such sites during office hours. When it comes to an office environment the use of these sites is clearly becoming a productivity black hole."

Don’t be surprised if another wave of businesses decides to create usage policies or block its employees from accessing Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, then.

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