Does Social Notworking Hurt Business?
Is the popularity of social networking becoming social notworking in the workplace?
The website WordSpy.com chose the phrase social notworking as it word of the day Friday. Also spelled as social not-working, the term is defined as surfing a social networking site instead of working.
According to Word Spy, the term first surfaced 13 months ago with the creation of the British website Social Notworking. From the site:
The idea behind this site is to offer some alternatives to those people who have been there, done that and got the t-shirt in terms of the whole social networking phenomena. In the same way as smokers get away with working less than non-smokers due to their smoking breaks, those people developing addictions to social networking sites are working less, and notworking more!
A more recent reference is from an article from the London's Independence newspaper that touts a £79 ($147) Prestina glass desk: "Slim-line, modern and slick, this metal and glass computer desk features a pull-out keyboard worktop and shelf, perfect for wasting time social "not-working."
Nearly a year ago, an article in Britain's IT Week carried the headline:
It's Time Businesses Faced Up to Facebook: Some users waste hours on social 'notworking' sites, but a gentle hint may work better than a ban.
Is social notworking a problem at your company? Share your thoughts below.
