Hiring a new employee? Maybe a recent graduate? Don’t block their Facebook. A new U.K. study, conducted by Open Text’s Web Solutions Group, found that more than half of employers found that employees expected to use social networking at work. Only 32 percent of the employers surveyed said they weren’t seeing a trend towards social media, but nevertheless expected an increase in demand for web 2.0 technologies in the near future.

Open Text’s Andy Bellinger: “Students grew up using Facebook and now as they move into the workplace they want to be able to communicate using the tools that they have become accustomed to.”

More findings: 61 percent of respondents felt that Web 2.0 tools could be used to benefit the enterprise. 46 percent allow Facebook use at any time, 31 percent limited use to certain times, and only 23 percent blocked it entirely.

“The days of the company newsletter are gone, the company Facebook is in,” Bellinger added.