Offices ban facebook as staff threatened with sack

Increasing numbers of employers are banning or restricting the use of Facebook and similar social networking sites over fears that staff are wasting time on them when they should be working. In London, more than two-thirds of employers have put a ban on the websites and several companies have also warned that accessing the site during office hours is a sackable offence.

The Metropolitan police are even using internet filters that prevent sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and Hotmail from being viewed at work.

Facebook is a social networking site on which people search for friends and share information.

Facebook has several time-wasting functions, that turns users into zombies.

More than 70 per cent of businesses, including banks and law firms, are "Faceblocking", according to a survey by the Evening Standard.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said staff were not allowed to use social networking sites at work. "Access to some websites is blocked as there is no business need for employees to access them. Facebook is one of those sites," he said.

Access to blocked sites is granted when required for business needs only.

London has recently overtaken Toronto as the city with the most Facebook users in the world. More than 826,000 Londoners are registered on the site, a figure that has doubled since May.

The site was first banned by several companies in America and Canada who noticed the large amounts of time employees were spending on it.

"Most contracts have a clause which restricts internet use to business use only," he said. "Unless you can argue it is an important work tool, people should not be accessing these sites during work time."

A manager could quite easily sack someone if they caught them using these social networking sites during office hours.

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FACEBOOK AND TWITTER FUEL іPHONE AND BLACKBERRY ADDICTION

Ofcom says one in three adults and most teenagers classify themselves as highly addicted to their smartphones such as iPhones, Blackberrys and Androids.

Almost half of teenagers and more than a quarter of adults now own a smartphone to browse Facebook and email.

The study also shows that smartphones have begun to intrude on our most private moments, with 47% of teenagers admitting to using their device in the toilet. Only 22% of adults confessed to the same habit. Unsurprisingly, mobile-addicted teens are more likely than adults to be distracted by their phones over dinner and in the cinema – and more would answer their phone if it woke them up.

Separate figures shared exclusively with the Guardian show that, for the first time, smartphone sales outstripped sales of regular mobiles in the first half of this year as the enormous demand continues to rise.

Our research into the use of smartphones, in particular, reveals how quickly people become reliant on new technology – to the point of feeling addicted. As more and more people acquire smartphones, they are becoming an essential tool in peoples' social lives whether they are out with friends socialising or using Facebook on the move.

Facebook remains far and away the most popular website for mobile users, with users spending almost four times the amount of time socialising online than using Google or any other website. Unsurprisingly, teenagers said they were less likely to read books if they owned a smartphone.

However, Ofcom warned that older Britons risked being left behind in the "digital revolution". While 90% of adults aged 35-44 have the internet at home, this falls to just a quarter of over 75s.

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NO LONGER MAN'S BEST FRIEND: COMPUTER REPLACES THE DOG AS OUR FAITHFUL COMPANION

The personal computer has overtaken the family dog as man's best friend, according to a study.

Researchers found that just 6 per cent of us believe that 'most people rely more on their dog than they do on their PC', while 67 per cent think the opposite to be true.

Even 38 per cent of dog owners confessed to relying more on their PC than on their dog, although 36 per cent disagreed

And 71 per cent of 18 to 24-year-old dog owners said they relied more on their computer.

Paul Allen, editor of Computeractive magazine, said: 'These days you can even take your PC for a walk, provided you have a laptop or tablet.

'It’s only a matter of time until the first PC that fetches your slippers.

Researchers questioned 2,000 British adults to find out about the change modern technology has brought to their home life.

They found that male dog owners are almost twice as likely as female owners to rely on their computer than a canine companion.

Mr. Allen said: 'With computers bringing them global news and newspaper sales falling, the family dog even misses out on the pleasure of taking the paper to his owner.'

But it's not all bad news for obedient dogs.

'The family PC has given dog owners access to a wealth of resources and information that can help with the long-term care that a dog needs,' Mr Allen said.

From finding the best vets to researching great new walks that all the family can enjoy, the web enables the PC to become a dog’s best friend.'

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THE BURNT-OUT GENERATION

This week, a study found that those women putting in more than an eight-hour day, five days a week, are six times more likely to suffer burn-out syndrome.

With one in ten women working more than 45 hours a week, it’s no surprise that many are teetering on the brink when it comes to their physical and mental health.

And it’s not just perfectionists and workaholics who tip over the edge, according to Dr Joan Borysenko, author of a new book examining this phenomenon.

Dr Borysenko believes women suffer so severely because they are more likely than men to be people-pleasers who ignore their own needs.

Trapped in a cycle of trying to do their best, but not realising the toll it’s taking on them, they end up in a cycle of despair.

‘Burn-out is a disorder of hope. It sucks the life out of competent, hard-working people. You lose motivation and vitality,’ says Dr Borysenko, a Harvard-trained scientist and psychologist.

It happens when you feel you can’t stand it for one more minute. You have such thoughts as: “I hate my life.” The risk for women is that so many don’t notice it’s happening to them until they’re so far down that road it’s hard to come back.

In a recent survey of 2,000 people, it was revealed that as many as one in three women has taken anti-depressants. Eighteen per cent of them did not tell their family they were taking medication, and one in ten did not even confide in her partner.

Crucially, even though the symptoms of burn-out can resemble depression, medication won’t cure it, according to Dr Borysenko. Instead, people need to spot the warning signs and make fundamental changes to their lifestyles.

People can become overwhelmed to the point where they can no longer function efficiently. You’re working harder, but getting less quality work done. That’s when burn-out sets in.

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THE PERSONAL LIFE OF AMERICAN ASTRONAUTS IN SPACE: WHAT'S IT REALLY LIKE?

NASA scientists said one important human lesson learned from the 135 shuttle flights is to give astronauts time off even in the cloistered quarters of space, a day off for reading, relaxing or live emailing with family.

It can take nearly three hours to dress for a space walk, they wear a diaper in case of a six or eight-hour spacewalk, and there's a pressure straw on the right side of the helmet if they get thirsty. At the astronauts' request, NASA installed a little pad on the left they can rub their face against to scratch. Since they can't look down inside the suit, spacewalkers wear a mirror on their wrist to read a clock and instruments off their chest.

Spacewalkers are usually so focused on their assignments, they don't have much time to sightsee. But they can't help noticing the frequent sunrises and sunsets that occur every 45 minutes at their speeds.

Their spacesuits must change gears just as often, for the more than 300-degree difference between keeping them warm during the night flights and cooling them during the daytime above the atmosphere.

Wheelock, an Army test pilot who spent six months aboard the space station, describes one creepy experience during a spacewalk. His feet were buckled onto the orbiter arm and he began a slow journey up and over. He could only look straight ahead.

For the longest time he lost sight of Earth and the orbiter. "I was staring off into the utter blackness of deep scary space." He'd been watching Earth for two hours and circled the globe twice. He said that experience made him wonder why humans don't get along better on what from space seems to be a very tiny place in a very big universe.

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