A survey commissioned by consulting and IT services provider Morse found that 57 percent of 1,460 workers surveyed spend an average of 40 minutes a week on social-networking sites during the day for personal reasons. According to Morse, the"wasted" time is costing UK firms £1.38 billion ($2.25 billion) annually, reports Brand Republic.

More than three-quarters of the workers said their employer had not issued guidelines for using Twitter. In addition, 84 percent said they should be able to post what they want to on social-networking sites despite the potential damage to their company's reputation or share price, notes V3.co.uk.

While social media can have a positive impact on businesses, Morse consultant Philip Wicks says it is important for companies to establish guidelines and for those rules to be enforced by the IT department.