In some offices, posting on Facebook can get you fired

With at least 25 million Pinoys online an average of 7.9 hours a day, the Philippines has earned the dubious distinction of being the "social networking capital of the world." Much of that time socializing on the web is time taken away from work. While local data on social network costs to work productivity is not yet available, the effects of spending so much time on these sites while at work is an issue that can no longer be ignored. Social email software provider harmon.ie in the US found that on average, employees waste as much as $10,375 (more than P450,000) per person each year due to social networking. Take the case of Princeton Nicholson, a Filipino graphic artist who has an account on seven social networks, and spends an average of five to eight hours on them per day. According to him, social networking sites are important tools to keep in touch with friends and relatives, but he admits they distract him from work. "Sa isang araw, nakakagawa ako ng more than five to ten set cards," Nicholson said. "But because of these [social networking] sites, minsan dalawa o tatlo (na lang)." Banned in city hall City governments are among those work places to take aggressive action against on-the-job Facebooking. At Manila City Hall, those caught checking their news feeds and posting tweets while at work will be given administrative sanctions, such as a suspension of six months to one year, or in some cases, dismissal from work. "Palagay natin, kunwari, ang attention mo sa isang trabaho kailangan ay 100 percent, so at least siguro mga 30 percent noon [napupunta sa Internet]," said Jesu Mari Marzan, city administrator at the Manila City Hall. "Lalo na kapag maganda 'yung topic na pinag-uusapan niyo, ma-e-engross ka doon. Pwede mong sabihin na, 'mamaya na itong [trabaho], kaya ko naman gawin ito mamaya,'" he added. While some would raise eyebrows at the possibility of losing one's job for tweeting, teller Erika Avecilla said the directive would help them focus on their work. "Okay lang, para makapagtrabaho kami nang maayos. Tsaka makakapag-Facebook ka naman sa bahay, and you have other means other than work, diba? Pag work, work lang," she stressed. Of the 17 cities in the Nationqal Capital Region, 15 have passed similar orders. Psychologist Nathaniel Chua, meanwhile, cautioned against multitasking while in the office, saying it can affect employees' work output. "Multitasking is a myth, hindi totoo na kaya nating mag-multitask," Chua said. "Hindi possible for you to do a good job na meron kang ginagawa on the side," he added. Regulate social networking? But this growing phenomenon in the workplace has already caught the attention of one lawmaker, who passed a resolution in Congress last year seeking to impose regulations on the use of Internet facilities in government offices. According to Marikina Rep. Romero Federico Quimbo's House Resolution 184, use of the Internet by government officials and employees during office hours "adversely affects their productivity and the quality of service they provide." Quimbo said the government stands to lose more than P103 million each month in electricity costs alone for at least two hours of unauthorized access to social networking sites every day. He added that the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG, where he served as president and chief executive officer, more than tripled its profit in the period between 2001 and 2009, after implementation of the same directive. “There is no question that there is a need to regulate the use of government ICT facilities to strike a balance between the benefits and the threat it poses," he added. The proposed legislation is still pending before the House of Representatives. Malacanang, however, earlier said that there is no need to pass such a legislation, since the heads of government agencies can simply draft social media policies for their employees. "Let's define the policy on that so the government people will be able to tweet without necessarily affecting productivity," said presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda. - HS, GMA News