This week saw the release of Clearswift's annual WorkLifeWeb research, a study examining attitudes to social media and personal technology in today's workplace. This year's research highlights some interesting shifts compared to last year's research, marking what appears to be a new phase in the adoption of social media by businesses.
One of the leading stats for this year is the fact that organisations across the globe appear to be clamping down on social media usage following recent high profile data breaches: 68% of companies now monitor employee internet activity while 56% completely block access to social media sites.
The 2011 report highlights a significant switch in perspective by global businesses. In Clearswift's 2010 study just 9% of companies engaged in blocking employee access to social media, yet in the latest research this figure has risen to 19%. So what's provoked this change in attitude and overwhelming sense of caution?
Perhaps it's the glut of high profile data leaks hitting the headlines over the past year? The hacking of corporate networks seems like a regular occurrence these days, and inevitably makes management more nervous and vigilant when it comes to employee-use of technologies that might expose them to more risk - especially if those employees demonstrate a blasé attitude towards security policies. It seems that 2011 is the year of prudence, with the mitigation of risk a higher boardroom priority.
Ironically, the study also found that companies see social media as critical to future success: one in four companies are planning to invest more in social media this year than last and 41% agree that the benefits of social media outweigh the drawbacks. A 'socianomic paradox' has emerged; on the one hand 80% of managers acknowledge the business benefits of social media tools, yet a paralysis has set in due to security fears, resulting in a new dilemma for many boardrooms.
Given that these are technologies that will influence the way we work and operate for years to come, it's a dilemma that's unlikely to disappear any time soon.