Many St. Louis companies allowing employees to access social networking sites

KSDK --- According to a local employment association, many St. Louis companies allow their employees to access social networking sites on company time.

In a survey of 152 St. Louis-area companies conducted by AAIM Management Association, 70 percent of the companies responded that they allow their employees to access the social networking site "LinkedIn" during work hours.

47 percent of the companies allow their employees to access Facebook during work hours and 50 percent of the companies allow their employees to access MySpace.

When asked how their company uses social networking sites for business purposes, 20 percent use the sites to connect with potential employees, while current employees are the target for nine percent of the companies.

AAIM is an association of over 900 St. Louis-area employers. Its goal is to help members better develop and manage their people and processes through peer networking, business research, management consulting, performance improvement and professional training.