A recent survey has revealed that Australians are among the world’s most deprived of access to social networking sites in the workplace.

According to 3 mobile’s INQ poll* 55% of Aussie workers said their employers banned social networking websites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo in the workplace, compared to just 20% of workers in the UK, 12% in France, 11% in Spain, 10% in Germany and 6% in Italy.

Leading Australian social network strategist and blogger Laurel Papworth, says “Companies are banning sites such as Facebook in the workplace for the wrong reasons – because they’re confusing the ‘social’ in social network with ‘party’. It’s really a ‘society’ network, made up of friends, family but also vendors, clients, colleagues, industry experts, leading thinkers and mentors.”

“Across the generations we’re seeing social networks being used by all types of people for many purposes; as a motivational tool, to further their work as well as personal relationships, to generate new ideas and gain new business. It isn’t a distraction from work and it isn’t ‘skiving’” she said. “The use of social networks in the workplace is a reality and the best and brightest businesses will benefit from harnessing the potential of an ambitious, hyper-connected workforce.”

Despite the tough stance being taken by employers, the findings from 3 mobile’s INQ poll of 1,000 Australian workers suggest the clamp-down on social networks in the workplace has only forced avid social networkers to resort to subterfuge to continue networking on-the-job.

Laurel Papworth told Australian Women Online, “If you block Facebook or You Tube at work, your staff will resort to using their work mobile phone to access these services. So if you block social networking sites at work, people will find another way and it may work out to be more expensive for the employer.”

Laurel also points out that the way we work is changing and the uniformly structured nine to five work day is fast becoming a thing of the past. “Children today are watching their parents use a laptop in the evenings, sending an sms on Saturdays and writing reports on the weekends,” she said. “And if we are already doing that, why can’t you take ten minutes during the day to check your profile on a social networking site?”

The INQ poll of 1000 Australian workers showed that 66% of Australian workers believe Facebook is for work as well as play and accept work colleagues ‘friend requests’ and yet, almost 1 in 3 (28%) are forced to hide their screen from their boss so they can social network undetected.

3 mobile’s Director of Sales, Marketing & Product Noel Hamill says: “Our poll also showed that 86% of 18 to 24 year olds are Facebook members. 3 already has more than 250,000 visits to Facebook on a mobile each week and demand is growing from those who want to access social networks whenever, wherever, despite what their bosses dictate. At 3 we’re responding to this trend with the revolutionary INQ¹ handset, with Facebook integrated into the heart of the phone” (For more information about the new 3 mobile INQ¹ handset visit the website www.three.com.au)

Of course it is also ironic that employers should be banning social networking in the workplace when they are using it themselves to recruit staff. Laurel Papworth agrees, “These sites are a very powerful recruitment tool and I think the resume of the future is not going to be a two page CV that you print out and give with your degree. Gen Y are already saying to employers ‘you can have a look at my blog and print out my testimonials on Linked In if you like’. Their blog stands for who they are and they believe that it’s their body of work and it certainly is so much more in-depth than a resume would be.”

Laurel Papworth has identified the seven types of social networking butterflies. Just for fun Click here to find out ‘What Type of Social Networking Butterfly Are You?’

*3 mobile Australia’s survey on social networking site use and trends questioned1,000 Australians aged 18-44 in an online study conducted by Pure Profile in October 2008.