The Facebook face-off. By Lucie Benson

One of the most hotly debated issues of the year so far has to be the question over whether staff should have access to social networking sites in the workplace. So what is the answer? Lucie Benson talks to HR Zone members to find out.

People up and down the country are divided as to whether social networking sites are actually a business benefit and a useful networking tool, or whether they hinder productivity and are a threat to IT security.

According to our recent poll conducted on HR Zone, asking whether employers should ban Facebook at work, it would seem all of you are divided too; 54 per cent of you said no, it shouldn’t be banned, whilst 46 per cent believed that it should.

There are some big firms that have already blocked access to social networking sites due to concerns over productivity and IT security, including LloydsTSB, Credit Suisse, Transport for London and Goldman Sachs.