VOA标准英语2009年-Social Networking Costing Companies

By Mil Arcega
Washington
03 November 2009
 

 
Recent surveys of online Internet users shows the amount of time people spend on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter is growing, and it may be costing employers time and money.

In the U.S., 77 percent of workers who have a Facebook account say they check their updates at work.

In the United Kingdom, a similar survey of workers shows 57 percent regularly log on to social networks, resulting in 40 minutes of lost worker productivity per day.

"It isn't just something you can do for half an hour during a lunch break but all through the day and because of that, it has a huge impact because people aren't necessarily concentrating on what they should be doing during the day," said Philip Wicks, a consultant¹ at London-based technology research firm, Morse PLC.

Wicks estimates social networking during office hours costs businesses in the U.K. about $2.25 billion a year. Workplace consultants² say the losses will grow as social and blogging sites attract even more users.

But instead of fighting a popular technology, William Beers at accounting³ firm Price Waterhouse Coopers says companies should be looking for ways to take advantage of it. "So instead of trying to shut it down, I think we should try to embrace these technologies, put in a nice policy that governs it and explain to users the risks related to it, provide some training and then see what business benefits we can have from it," he said.

Some workers say networking sites are helpful in exchanging ideas, boosting morale⁴ or finding the right candidate for the job. "Certainly, 'Linked-in' on the professional level is a very useful tool in connecting with other professionals," said one man.

But others argue online socializing is best left outside the office. "If you want to spend time at the weekends on it or in the evenings, fine, but I think most people are probably too busy, should be too busy, to do it at work anyway," a woman said.

Studies show the amount of time people spend on social networking and blogging sites has tripled since last year. Employers are fighting back. A recent survey shows 54 percent of U.S. companies have already banned social networking and blogging while on the job.

1 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

2 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

3 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

4 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。