Bonus plan to keep staff off Facebook

Something for the weekend…

The invention of social media sites has had an impact on productivity for many an employer. Getting staff to stop using sites such as Facebook during work hours usually involves blocking them, but maybe employers should consider a bonus plan to encourage a reduction in use?

Enterprising Massachusetts teenager Rachel Baier has managed to persuade her father to pay her $200 for staying off Facebook for four months. The 14-year old drew up an agreement for him to sign which states she will abstain from using the social media site from 4 February to 26 June. In return, her father Paul Baier, vice president at Groom Energy Solutions, will pay her bonus instalments of $50 on 15 April and $150 on 26 June.

Paul Baier told the Daily Dot: “It was her idea; she wants to earn money and also finds Facebook a distraction and a waste of time sometimes.”

It could be an interesting calculation for HR people to do: is the value of increased productivity potentially higher than the proposed $200 bonus over four months?

Reaction in the EB offices is: let us have Facebook!