LONDON - Go ahead, poke someone on the job.

It might be good for your career -- and your company's bottom line.

For readers older than 40, to poke someone is to try to get their attention by sending a message, or poke, to their Facebook page.

The social networking website is being touted as a useful tool in developing skills on the job, according to a study at the University of Western Ontario's Richard Ivey School of Business.

The findings of Nicole Haggerty, assistant professor of information systems at Ivey, will likely be met with skepticism by some clock-watching bosses.

They share the view of the Ontario government, which two years ago banned thousands of employees from using Facebook at work.

But Haggerty argues that in an era when workers are asked to share information and collaborate with others in offices around the globe, Facebook and other social networking sites can give them much-needed tools and confidence to navigate that world of workplace information-sharing.

"It's about employees sharing knowledge and communicating to other groups. In today's workplaces, people share work all the time, managing projects using online tools, and it is a challenge to do that well," she said.

"As organizations move into virtual work, workers have to be virtually competent."

Facebook helps with that competence by giving people a comfort level with navigating the different information-sharing sites required in business, Haggerty said.

"If you are working on a project with someone in Brazil or China through such sites, you will need these skills."

Haggerty collaborated with Ivey professor Yinglei Wang on the research examining the idea of virtual competence in a number of settings.

One area is knowledge sharing among employees, and the research showed that happens more easily when people build up their skills for virtual competence.

"Facebook enhances these skills in the workplace," Haggerty said. "It's important to be skillful in social relationships and that leads to better performance."

Haggerty isn't concerned that the use of Facebook on the job will lead to more chit-chat among friends, and a drop in production, saying all web media need to be monitored.

"Our message is, everything in moderation."