The brilliant people at Morse, an IT services company in the UK, released the results of a survey today that claims the time employees spend on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter is costing businesses about $2.2 Billion (USD) each year in lost productivity.

This is not the first study to put a number on the cost of social networks to businesses.  Studies like this have prompted many large companies to block social networks or update their employee manuals to forbid their use.  Companies with large HR departments often have to fight to prove reasoning for their existence, and ridiculous studies like this are what they feed on.

“The popularity of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook has grown considerably over the last couple of years, however with it has come the temptation to visit such sites during office hours. When it comes to an office environment the use of these sites is clearly becoming a productivity black hole,” commented Philip Wicks, consultant at Morse.

What the study fails to calculate is the revenue brought about from increased creativity, collaboration, inspiration, innovation and employee morale. When employees are happier they work harder and come up with better ideas.  And employees are happy when they aren’t governed by big brother policies.  The Morse study showed that on average the employees surveyed spent 40 minutes per week using social networks for personal use.  Apparently they are assuming that without social networks those employees would spend that 40 minutes working at 100% productivity.  With or without social networks, are any employees 100% productive?

Social Networks connect employees with the rest of the world – and that’s a good thing! Sometimes it means they get an update from their favorite tech blog, or business journal.  Sometimes it means connecting with a colleague or lost friend who becomes a new vendor or client.  And yes, sometimes it means they get to flip through pictures of their kids at the park.  One of those things helps them stay up to date with industry news, feeds them ideas and may help them work harder.  One helps bring new business to the company, possibly an account worth $2.2 Billion.  The other thing helps them realize there is a world outside their cube and reminds them why they even work in the first place.  How on earth can any of this be a bad thing for employers?

Unfortunately, companies like Morse will never get it.  And as long as employers keep listening to idiots like Philip Wicks, the employer war on social networking is going to get worse before it gets better.