More than half (54%) of chief information officers (CIOs) said their firms do not allow employees to visit social networking sites for any reason while at work.

CIOs were asked, “Which of the following most closely describes your company’s policy on visiting social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, while at work?” Their responses:

54% prohibited completely
19% permitted for business purposes only
16% permitted for limited personal use
10% permitted for any type of personal use
1% don’t know/no answer

“Using social networking sites may divert employees’ attention away from more pressing priorities, so it’s understandable that some companies limit access, said Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology.

“For some professions, however, these sites can be leveraged as effective business tools, which may be why about one in five companies allows their use for work-related purposes.”

Willmer added that employees should always use good judgment, no matter how lenient their company’s policy.

“Professionals should let common sense prevail when using Facebook and similar sites — even outside of business hours,” he said. “Regrettable posts can be a career liability.”

Employees at organizations “somewhat affected” by the recession are more likely to be satisfied than employees at organizations that have been “greatly impacted” by the economy. More than 40 percent of those surveyed said they are “very satisfied” with their jobs and 45 percent are “somewhat satisfied.”

“Although employees say the weak economy has no negative impact on overall job satisfaction, the recession is the reason why job security is the top ranked factor to workplace satisfaction among HR professionals and employees in 2009,” said SHRM President and CEO Laurence G. O’Neil.

“Job security is the number one aspect of job satisfaction this year, topping benefits, compensation, and feeling safe at work.”

Specifically, human resource professionals (72%) and employees (63%) place job security at the top of the “very important” aspects of job satisfaction.

Other highlights from the survey include:

Employees view health care and medical benefits (64 percent) as more valuable than paid time off (58 percent), defined contribution plans (41 percent), defined benefit pension plans (39 percent), and family-friendly benefits (29 percent).

Regarding benefits, both HR professionals (82 percent) and employees (64 percent) rank first health care/medical benefits the most important to job satisfaction.

Employees with longer tenure at organizations rank benefits, such as defined contribution plans and defined benefit pension plans, as more important to job satisfaction than do employees with shorter tenure.

More females report paid time off, the relationship with the immediate boss and co-workers, and flexibility to balance work and life issues as being important to job satisfaction than men do.

Employees 35 years old and younger said family-friendly benefits were more important than did employees age 56 and older.

Career development and networking opportunities, paid training and reimbursement programs, meaningfulness of job, and an organization’s commitment to a green workplace were among the job satisfaction aspects that were least in importance to employees between 2008 and 2009.

The survey found 49 percent of HR professionals are somewhat pessimistic about job growth in the second quarter of 2009 and anticipate increased job losses, and another 21 percent are very pessimistic and expect job cuts during the quarter.

Nearly 70 percent of respondents will either eliminate jobs or keep their payrolls flat in the second quarter of 2009 (52% will maintain their staffing levels, 17% will cut jobs).

A total of 84 percent of respondents either cut jobs or kept payrolls flat in the first quarter of 2009 (45% maintained staffing levels, 39% conducted layoffs). That marked a decline in hiring activity from the fourth quarter of 2008, when 76 percent of respondents either cut jobs or kept payrolls flat (44% maintained staffing levels, 32% decreased staff).

Going forward, HR professionals are not indicating much faith in a rebound for the U.S. labor market. Only 1 percent said they were very optimistic that there will be job growth in the second quarter of 2009.

Fourteen percent said they were somewhat optimistic about increases in job growth, and another 14 percent said they were neither optimistic nor pessimistic about job growth in the second quarter.

“Economists and labor market observers have varying viewpoints as to when the labor market will start its recovery,” the survey concluded.

“Most are not calling for a rebound until 2010 at the earliest, and that will depend, in part, on the effectiveness of the stimulus package approved by Congress in February.”

Bosses may be unknowingly driving this fear by simply staying behind closed doors, as 76 percent of employees say that when faced with this scenario unexpectedly, it triggers thoughts of being laid off.

“In today’s economic environment, employees are searching for every clue to determine their job fate. Too often, not enough direct input is given to employees, and so non-verbal cues are heavily relied upon,” said Lynn Taylor, an expert and author on workplace issues.

“Managers working behind closed doors may be shutting out more than noise – they may be shutting down productivity,” she added.

Taylor said that while mangers have to deal with more sensitive personnel issues today than in previous decades, they can counter employee concerns at a critical time with more proactive communication.

“Acknowledging the astounding impact a small gesture can have on corporate productivity in tense times is a good first step. Providing your team with reassurances whenever possible will mitigate unnecessary panic and help them stay focused,” Taylor said.

The U.S. study was based on telephone interviews conducted with 1,000 people 18 years of age or older. The survey found that the average employee spends 2.8 hours (168.8 minutes) a day worrying about personal job concerns, such as company lay-offs and /or losing their job.