Vincent Maher, for example, quantifies the projected cost to the SA economy of Facebook in the workplace at more than R100million over the next six months. Reason enough for some companies to be worried, and to consider blocking access.
But looking at costs presents just one side of the equation. A more balanced viewwould take into account would take into account not just costs, but benefits too. And the trouble with many benefits in this "knowledge economy" is that they're not immediately quantifiable, and less likely to impress the bean counters on a spreadsheet.
In an environment like a university, where knowledge is our stock-in-trade, we ought to be maximising the conditions for its successful production. "Productivity" is not as easily measured as in a bottle factory, and too often crude indicators such as "time at desk" serve to suffice.
With almost every business these days claiming to be a "knowledge business", is it not time for employers to start thinking through implications a little more holistically?