The Noonu Atoll Office has issued a notice to all staff members banning from using social networking services such as Facebook during office hours.
Online newspaper Manadhoo Live, based in Noonu Atoll, reported that the issue was raised when a female staff member working in the office published a comment against a candidate running for Manadhoo Council in the upcoming Local Council Elections.
However head of the Noonu Atoll Office, Abdulla Abdul Wahid, told Minivan News that the restriction on social networks was not related to the issue.
”We just want our staffs to follow the Civil Servants’ code of conduct,” said Abdulla. ”We have noticed that many staff working in the office have been ignoring office work by getting involved in social networks.”
He said that staffs were using social networks during office hours rather than getting involved with their work.
”Maybe whoever said [the ban] was related to the issue of publishing a comment relating to the candidate thought we restricted access social network because it happened at the same time,” he said, ”but it’s not really because of that. Staff have been spending too much time on Facebook instead of doing their work.”
He said the notice was issued according to the Civil Servants’ regulations, which stated that the internet access in the workplace should only be used for office purposes.
Receptionists and officials at the Human Resources department of the Noonu Atoll office refused to comment on the issue.
Social media adoption in the Maldives is prodigious, particularly Facebook, with almost a third of the country’s population signed up to the service. According to statistics from Facebook, the Maldives has 89,460 registered users – two thirds of whom are male. Almost half Maldivian Facebook users are aged under 18.
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huh? minivan ran out of news? Minivan pls cut the B.S and give the readers some real news
Ban facebook and all other social network from all the government offices.
Civil servants are paid to work. Not to chat on facebook, download movies and flirt on the phone.
@faxyl
minivan news is a news site for everyone. it may not be news to you but its news to me. and publishing such news could inspire some other places to follow as well, not just civil service. i guess your idea of news is about some political quarrel or about a guy's head been split in two...right?
I work at a Gov company and we have had sites like Facebook & Utube made unaccessable thorough the office network. It had been done long time back & was due to the fact that employees spend far too much time on these activities & use up the office netowrk resources resulting slower network for the genuine work of the company. Its time the goverement offices & atoll offices followed the same ban.
Banning internet and facebook is not the solution. The problems are much wider and deeper than just surface level internet access.
Proper mechanism for measurement of tasks and objectives needs to be in place first.
If they are not met, the staff can be fired, if on the other hand, the staff has got ample time on their hands after completion of works, then there are too many staff than necessary.
Objective/task based measurements and freedom to work to achieve those targets must be given.
Ban all forms of disruptions to work.. Not only facebook. Have breakfast at home before attending for work..
alhamdhulillah
Congrats to NOONU ATOLL Office official for banning social network. Staff must use the time for the work they have to do not wasting public money to play and chat. Good work Wahid!
@Ali: It is a very good solution; people are, no matter how dedicated they are, prone to distraction.
And perhaps its a lot easier to get that done than firing people on a whim--who'd you get to replace them in Noonu Atoll?