Use of Social Media in the Workplace

As social media become more pervasive and widespread in the workplace, there is an increasing need to study and understand the factors driving working professionals to use social media for work related purposes. Yet, knowledge about the factors influencing the use of social media technologies at work remains limited. Drawing from the uses and gratifications (U&G) theory, the objective of this study is to uncover the motivational factors driving the use of social media in the workplace. The U&G framework can help to understand the needs and wants of working professionals with regards to the use of social media for work related purposes. In addition, this study also investigates the influence of prior social media experience to complement the U&G theory. A survey was designed and administered to 157 working professionals. Results from the hierarchical regression analysis revealed that respondents with prior social media experiences were more likely to use social media at work. In addition, we also found that factors such as gratifications obtained from socializing and tasks accomplishment were also significant in influencing the use social media for work related purposes. Implications and directions for future work are discussed

Social media will drive development and implementation of relational strategic human resource strategies

This paper outlines some origins and pervasive aspects to Social Media use, then looks at SHRM trends and professional responses to factoring in use of Social Media in the workplace

Use of Social Media in the Workplace: Contradictions and Unintended Consequences

Even though social media technologies have been increasingly adopted in the workplace, few studies have looked at the consequences and contradictory outcomes of this adoption. This exploratory case study seeks to understand how organizations are using social media and what the consequences of this adoption are, from the perspective of managers and users. Ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers and social media users of a large professional association in the US (Pro-Org, a pseudonym). Preliminary findings suggest that adoption of social media is not a controlled process, and contradictory expectations among management and coping strategies from users may undermine organizational capacity to achieve its outcomes regarding social media

Distraction or Connection? An Investigation of Social Media Use at Work

The use of social media in the workplace is controversial. In order to develop a good understanding of social media use at work, this study examines the effects of social media use from both positive and negative sides. Based on two-factor theory, this study proposes that social media use at work engenders distraction and perceived relatedness, which in turn influence job performance. This study further draws on resource matching theory to posit that the perceptual load of the job moderates the effects of social media use at work on distraction and perceived relatedness. A survey will be conducted to collect data and test the research hypotheses. In theoretical terms, this study is expected to contribute to information systems research by investigating both positive and negative outcomes of social media usage. In practical terms, this study sheds light on the usage and management of social media in the workplace

The Role of Knowledge Sharing, Social Media, and Trust in Job Performance

The development of technological progress is the focus of the company's attention to survive in the era of competition. Technology is a key to winning the competition. Unfortunately, many human resources in the company cannot utilize technology properly. Social media is an excellent knowledge-sharing platform for now and can be used to improve job performance within an organization. Therefore, this study aims to measure the role of knowledge sharing, the use of social media and trust in employee performance at PT. XYZ. This research used a quantitative approach by gathering 128 respondents using non-probability sampling techniques with the census method. The data testing technique used in this study is SPSS 22.0. This study found that the use of social media in the workplace had a positive and significant effect on sharing knowledge, trust, and job performance. Meanwhile, knowledge sharing positively and significantly impacts job performance, and trust positively and significantly impacts job performance

Social Media in the Workplace: To Allow It or Not to Allow It?

There is an increasing interest in exploring the use of social media in the workplace, where the issue of the effect of this phenomenon often provokes opposite reactions. Consequently, managers face the challenge of making the right decision, allowing or limiting the use of social media. It is necessary for contemporary companies to create an environment that will enhance the performance of their employees, but also to understand the challenges and opportunities of the changing nature of the today’s workforce in the context of the development of new technologies and especially of social media. Thus, this paper draws on Uses and Gratification theory and aims to offer the theoretical model that explains the role and impact of different types of social media use at the workplace on employee\u27s innovative behaviour and individual work performance. The research model predicts that social media influences innovative work behaviour and individual work performance. This work is licensed under a&nbsp;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</p

Social media in the workplace: Legal challenges for employers and employees

Social media has become prevalent through platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and has essentially changed the way people communicate. At first, social media networks were used for private purposes; however, businesses have started using social media as a way to improve and advertise their products online. Therefore, social media presents many benefits such as lower costs for advertising and convenience for customers to view and share products online. However, the advent of social media in the business environment also creates challenges within the workplace that can have a negative effect on the employer–employee relationship. This is especially significant when social media is used inappropriately within and beyond the workplace. Therefore, the aim of this research is to address the legal challenges created by social media in the workplace, and whether employers have a contractual right to control and/or manage employees using social media beyond the workplace. The use of social media in the workplace complicates the employment relationship because of the various legal issues it creates. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to highlight these legal issues within the workplace environment and how the use of social media affects the employment relationship when used within and beyond the workplace. Hence, this thesis will determine the meaning of a ‘workplace’ and how this may present legal issues relating to the use of social media outside of working hours. This discussion is coupled with the duties within an employment contract and whether social media has any impact on these duties within the employment relationship when determining the use of social media outside of working hours. Moreover, this thesis will examine the key legal issues arising out of the use of social media in the workplace, which include privacy and defamation as well as cyberbullying. These are key issues in relation to the ubiquitous nature of social media in the workplace. Focusing on these legal issues, this thesis will address the means by which employers can control and monitor the use of social media by employees within and outside the workplace through existing workplace surveillance legislation and workplace policies. However, the implementation of social media workplace policies to regulate off-duty conduct of employees may create some concern in relation to a breach of privacy. Therefore, this thesis considers the impact of privacy principles within workplace surveillance and to what extent an employer can regulate the use of social media by an employee beyond the workplace. This thesis concludes with key recommendations on the possible control and monitoring of social media within and beyond the workplace. The concluding remarks find that by introducing the integration of employment contracts and social media workplace policies, together with the implied duties under the contract, it is acceptable for employers to manage social media beyond the workplace. Secondly, this thesis found that educating and training employees on the possible risks social media in the workplace can have and keeping the workplace policies up to date, may reduce the legal challenges of social media beyond the workplace. Lastly, this thesis proposed that existing workplace surveillance legislation be amended to include specific control and monitoring of social media within and beyond the workplace

Managing and Leveraging Workplace Use of Social Media at a South African Supply Chain Company

The rapid growth of social media has drastically changed the way people communicate in their private lives and at work. Social media has become a part of our daily lives in both environments and serve as an emotional outlet on various topics. Due to this, there are legal risks associated with the use of social media in the workplace and proper management of this risk is required. Alternatively, this rapid growth also brings about numerous advantages which may be leveraged by organisations. Social media is expected to continue to evolve and expand. In the process, it will become more integrated into both business and personal lives. A qualitative approach was adopted and primary data gathered by means of interviews with the supply chain’s employees. Content analysis methodology was chosen for the analysis of the qualitative data and themes were developed. These themes were also compared to theory and conclusions were made. The main finding of the study was that social media interaction is inevitable, whether the organisation denies access to this technology. Employees will find a way to communicate via social media.&nbsp; The recommendations resulting from this study will enable the company to implement a proper social media policy whereby the employee will know the legalities of using social media and both the employee and the organisation covered against any probable legal risk. The company may also leverage the advantages of social media to the benefit of the organisation

Regulating Social Media Use in the Workplace

The advent of social networking sites (SNS) has become a reality of the digital age. These sites are highly interactive, creative and addictive for individuals to exchange personal, professional and social ideas but its use has also been the subject of litigation in the courts lately just like any man made invention. People using these sites have sparked a number of legal challenges that have dramatically changed the world. This raises a number of questions as to whether there are clear guidelines on the use of these tools by employers and employees. This paper is a case commentary of one of the first cases in Canada where employees have been fired because of work related postings they made on Facebook one of the most popular social networking sites in the world today. The judgment of the British Columbia Labour Relations Board in this case did not invoke the issue of employers policy on the use of social media in the workplace despite the fact that the employers in this case admitted that they admitted that they have never encountered the use of Facebook by employees. My findings in reviewing the facts of this case revealed that the employees involved in this case would not have reacted as they did if their employers had a social media policy and guideline which explained the expectations when using these tools whether at work or outside. The commentary also reviews the recently released professional advisory on the use of electronic communication and social media by a regulatory body in Ontario. It concludes with recommendations for the use of this empowering communication tool in the workplace as technological advancements continue to emerge and change the world

Generational Differences in Use of Social Media in Today’s Workplace

This study examined the use of social media at work. Undergraduate students and professors were surveyed to try to find a generational relationship between the younger generation’s view of using sites such as Facebook while working and how some participants from an older generation perceived it. We also examined the effects of Facebook outside of work and whether or not postings made there could jeopardize a position at work. The results from our survey and research conclude that social media is an increasing problem because it serves as a distraction and predict that with increasing individual use of social media it will become more of a problem at work if it is not properly managed by the employer