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Bored at Work

8 April, 2011 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

Facebook gets more hits than Google.

There is a social media revolution going on.  I can communicate with millions using Facebook, I can Twitter to thousands and if you really need to see me, how about a bit of YouTube?

It is all about engagement and communication.

Which are, oddly,  two of the biggest challenges in management:

  • making sure that everybody is lined up
  • singing from the same song sheet
  • marching to the same drum
  • excited by their work

Social media could be really, really powerful.  Possibly the most significant change in a manager’s ability to communicate and engage since the invention of the telephone.

So why do many large organisations have an Internet policy that bars employees from visiting Facebook, YouTube and Twitter?  Why are these sites inappropriate?

Is it that most HR / IT directors lack imagination and foresight?    Or do they just know that their staff will log on when they are bored?

Instead of worrying about people wasting time on social media, how about worrying about how to use it to your advantage?

If your staff are bored, grab their attention.

Photo by niklas_hamann on Unsplash

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: bureaucracy, information technology, trust

About the Author

James Lawther
James Lawther

James Lawther is a middle-aged, middle manager.

To reach this highly elevated position he has worked in numerous industries, from supermarket retailing to tax collecting.  He has had several operational roles, including running the night shift in a frozen pea packing factory and carrying out operational research for a credit card company.

As you can see from his C.V. he has either a wealth of experience or is incapable of holding down a job.  If the latter is true this post isn’t worth a minute of your attention.

Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to read it and decide for yourself.

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