Why are your employees tweeting during work?

A new study is hoping to find out the true impact of employees who cheekily check their social media on work time.

Social media is as prevalent as ever in everyday life, and sometimes the temptation to log in at work is too much to handle.

Last year the 2013 Yellow™ Social Media Report released by Sensis revealed that 34 per cent of social media users log on at work. This was up from 30 per cent in 2012.

While Sensis's report only gave figures on the amount of people who connect into their social networks, a Queensland University of Technology Business School academic hopes for more information.

Professor Paula McDonald is looking for workers to divulge how often they are on social media at work and how long they are spending on which sites.

Most people know that workers who spend a lot of time on social media at work are less productive, but there could be other reasons for them to be online. Employees might not be stimulated enough at work, or may have even have finished all their work for the day and don't find the work challenging enough for them. Some employers, therefore, don't block social websites so employees have something to do with down time.

Business that use social media such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs for promotion are also at odds at whether this kind of usage is appropriate during working hours. It is of course necessary for the business, but it offers a large temptation for misuse for employees who have access to it.

While social media usage is an issue that businesses must confront head on, there are productivity solutions that businesses can use to help keep employees challenged at work.

By introducing efficiency software, businesses can improve productivity as well as managing the workflow for employees.