Should you ban social networking sites at work?

The rise and rise of social networking websites such as News Corp's MySpace has put the spotlight on how businesses respond to staff use of such sites during the working day. But a poll of silicon.com readers suggests companies have little to fear from the web 2.0 craze - yet.

Asked how much time in the office they spend using social networking sites each week, two-thirds of respondents (66 per cent) said they don't spend any time at all on it. And a further 24 per cent said they spend less than one hour per week checking out the likes of Bebo and Facebook.

Is there a skills shortage?

Tell us what you think of the IT workforce in silicon.com's 2007 Skills Survey.

But not every office worker is so abstemious when it comes to social networking in the office - eight per cent of respondents said they spend one to five hours per week engaged in the online activity, while two per cent owned up to racking up five to 10 hours each working week.

Staff access to popular social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace is banned as a matter of course by certain companies, such as some investment banks. But as social networking becomes a more mainstream web activity some firms are changing their policy and allowing access.

Law firm Allen & Overy, which briefly banned Facebook access last month, is one company that has had a change of heart. A spokesman for the firm told silicon.com: "I believe Facebook can have real benefits, both to us as a business and at an individual level. The obvious benefit is the ability to network."