The report finds that more than half of UK employers report that their intake of new recruits expect full access to social networking at work, while a further one in three respondents expects to see increased demand for web 2.0 in the workplace in the near future.

But is a workplace preoccupation with social networking - yer Myspaces, yer Facebooks, yer Bebos, yer LinkedIns, yer Twitters (external websites all) - a bad thing?

More than three-fifths (61%) of those surveyed feel that social networking could be used to the benefit of their organisation. And any new or soon-to-be graduates reading this will be pleased  to learn that banning social networking from the office is the exception, rather than the rule. Fewer than one in four (23%) respondents say they do not allow access to Facebook, while three in ten (31%) allow access at certain times. In contrast, the greatest proportion (46%) allow unfettered Facebooking to one and all.

XpertHR of course offers a wealth of resources for employers concerned with what to do about social networking technologies (subscription required).

And for those of you who fancy a spot of entirely legitimate web 2.0 use, the XpertHR portfolio has a growing presence in the social networking world, including (external websites both):

• Follow XpertHR on Twitter.
• Access Personnel Today's excellent networking tool for HR professionals, HR Space.