Sitting on Facebook during working hours is, as a general rule, frowned upon (unless you work in social media, in which case, post away…) But with the imminent launch of Facebook At Work, that could all be about to change. No sneaky minimising of tabs necessary.
Different to, you know, just being on Facebook ‘at work,’ the ubiquitous social network is thought to be rolling out its first ever platform for companies in the next few weeks. Designed to make it easier for employees within the same business to communicate and share ideas, At Work will have all the features that we know inside out: a News Feed, an Events tool, the option to create groups and a standalone Messenger app, all of which have been tweaked to help colleagues share ideas, schedule meetings and track tasks. There’ll be no overlap with your personal profile, though, so no need to worry about your superiors leafing through your holiday photos, or accidentally spamming your colleague chat with memes.
The platform has been in development for the past two years, and already has 450 companies signed up worldwide. While there’s no word yet on how much Facebook At Work will charge, it’s been suggested that companies will be billed per user instead of paying a flat rate – making it more accessible for smaller businesses and start-ups.
While Facebook At Work may promise an interface that’s familiar to most and features that will rival workplace staples like Skype and Slack, it’ll have to overcome one main hurdle: the preconception that Facebook is for procrastination, not productivity.
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