Time spent on social websites costs firms €16bn

EMPLOYEES who fritter time away on Facebook, Twitter and other social media websites are costing British businesses up to £14 billion (€16bn), new research suggests.

British employment website MyJobGroup.co.uk said it polled 1,000 British workers and found that nearly 6%, or 2 million, of Britain’s 34 million-strong workforce spent more than an hour per day on social media while at work, amounting to more than one eighth of their entire working day.

“Our results clearly show that British workers are spending increased time whilst at work on social media networks, which, left unchecked, could have negative repercussions on the productivity of many companies across the country,” managing director of Myjobgroup.co.uk Lee Fayer said in a statement with the results of the survey.