Social+Media+in+the+Workplace

=**Social Media at Work**=

//Introduction//
The relatively recent introduction of social media to the workplace has seen different companies react in how they believe they should or should not manage their employees use of it. Social media can be defined as “...media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable communication techniques. ...the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue.” (Chief Learning Officer, 2011)

Hampton et al., (2011) say that social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Skype and LinkedIn have become common place within the working environment because of the blurring definition between home and work lives, however questions have been raised as to whether or not they are helping people connect or are isolating people. The Pew Research Centre carried out a social networking site survey in which they looked at how these technologies can affect trust and community. In their sample, 79% of adults said they used the internet and that 47% of these say they use at least one social networking site, this is almost double from 2008. 56% of social networking users are female. Within the average of 229 Facebook friends, 10% of these are co-workers, which is a rise on previous figures and shows how much more important Facebook alone is becoming within a workplace environment. Twitters’ use in sharing relevant articles between people of the same interests has been very positive for the community that it lies within, as its easy and broad reach can be harnessed by the business it means it can promote itself easily, and be close to its consumer base.

media type="custom" key="25301296" [|Social Media at Work Transport Canada] // (Transport Canada, 2012) //

Managers are having to choose between keeping company secrets from escaping via social media and the free benefits that promotion though social media can offer. A clearly understood social media policy is needed if social media use is to be allowed within a business. Nicholas Economidis says that a balance is needed to be found “between an employee’s freedom of speech and the employee not sharing things about the workplace that would be embarrassing or inappropriate from the employee’s point of view”. There can be seen to be a blurring of the lines when social media is brought into the workplace, bringing with it the concern of the rapidity with which social media and online communications can spread, once an employee has sent a message there is almost no stopping it. Another risk facing employers is if they choose to do a pre-employment search on potential candidates and are found to have discriminated against someone, it has been recommended to businesses that someone other than the decision maker for the applicants do the online searching so as to not bring personal information to the decision making process. Having social media be allowed in the workplace should bring with it policies and training on how to keep said social media information private, it is not wanted that employees inadvertently reveal private information such as sexual orientation to their colleagues if this could potentially cause stress to that employee though harassment from co-workers. (Greenwald, 2013a)

Greenwald (2013b), goes on to say that training employees on the proper use of social media can help avoid many issues that allowing social media in the workplace can bring. Scott Vernick said “Unless you have a very strong social media policy, you don’t necessarily know what your employees are saying about your company or about your competitors, and so it just creates all kinds of risks”. When looking at social media use within the workplace you must also look at how your company uses social media to interact with its customers, if a company has a strong social media presence online itself then employees should be allowed to use social media themselves, as if to promote the brand in its truest form and to prove that it really is an engaging business. Social media has been identified as a powerful tool within business, it should be allowed to be used but with guidelines on how and what is posted on public facing outlets. Such a social media policy should cover “the type of information that is prohibited from being disseminated, including proprietary information and anything that’s subject to some type of regulation”. A policy should include that employees disclose their relationship with the company and that their views are their own and not that of the companies.

media type="custom" key="25301312" //[|Risks of social media at work]// // (WLFITV, 2013) //

During the Risk and insurance management society inc’s annual conference in April 2013 it was discussed how risk managers need to control social media use in the workplace. It was brought to attention that employees “lack of training is a big issue”. (Kenealy, 2013). A business ‘Credit Management’, (2013) highlights that fact that each business will have a bespoke set of rules in dealing with social media use. For example some small companies may benefit highly from allowing their employees to use social media at work, especially if they are creating a presence for the business online whilst doing so. Whereas larger businesses may face issues that Moran & Gossieaux, (2013) have reported on in a study that found that employees that trust what their employers say are four times more likely to tell others where they work than those who distrust a manager. Social media has created a somewhat transparent business environment, or at least the potential for one. Social media has the potential to expose the inner workings of a business, especially if there is an employee that is unhappy, the social media world will find out and quickly. 42% of people surveyed say that they trust more of what is on a company’s social media site that its own company website. Negative posts online can has the potential to “hurt sales or dissuade prospective employees”. All of this demonstrates that it is important to have trust with your employees if social media use is to be allowed within the business. From a business’s perspective it must try to ensure that mixed messages aren’t being sent from within the business to the outside world, and that from this it should be carefully monitored in order to understand the “perspectives and opinions customers, potential customers and employees are hearing about your organisation”.

media type="custom" key="25301324" //[|Have I shared too much?]// // (HaveISharedTooMuch, 2011) //

// (Hamer, 2013) A 2012 report by SilkRoad Technology revealed that 75% of employees access social media daily whilst at work, with 60% doing it daily. Almost 50% indicated it was to connect with co-workers. 23% had received a social media a work policy and less than 10% had received any training on social media. Employers can be held liable for employee actions that take place during employment, for example, if an employee was to post negative or false information about a competing company on Facebook it could expose the employer to legal action regarding defamation. Employees have the right to discuss pay and working conditions via social media for the purpose of “collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection”. Social media can not only affect a business’s professional image as a young student on internship with Cisco got fired for tweeting “Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.” Cisco retracted their offer. //

// Case Study //
//Bullying, Discrimination, and Harassment Employees’ use of social media has blurred the line between business and personal interactions. For example, it is now commonplace, if not expected, for co-workers to friend one another on Facebook.//

// An employee with a romantic interest in a co- worker, however, can quickly cross a line between friendly conversation and harassing conduct. And if a work relationship sours, social media can provide an easy outlet for harassing, discriminatory, or retaliatory conduct. //

// For example, an employee at the Library of Congress claimed he was harassed, discriminated against, and eventually ﬁred after he liked a Face- book page promoting gay adoption.5 Despite an exemplary work performance record, the employee claimed that after the action on his Facebook wall, his supervisor’s daughter posted, ‘‘You’re not one of those weirdos, are you?’’ //

// The employee claimed he was subsequently subjected to ridicule at work, lectured about religion, and sent photos of assault riﬂes with a banner that read, ‘‘Diversity—Let’s Celebrate it.’’ The supervisor then confronted the employee about his sexuality and told him he could never succeed because it was ‘‘against god’s law.’’ //

// The employee claimed the harassment only in- creased and that his supervisor assigned impossible work tasks, setting him up to fail. He ﬁled a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and took disability leave for severe anxiety issues. //

// After the supervisor cancelled the employee’s health insurance retroactively, and he was unable to pay his rent, he brought a lawsuit against the Library of Congress. //

// In addition to prohibiting certain behaviour, employers should suggest that employees use caution when posting on social media websites. The likelihood that something posted online never gets deleted is high, and employers should remind employees of this. //

19% of companies are blocking access to employees social media. However is it noted that when employees are allowed to access social media at work there can be productivity increase as they feel more comfortable and relaxed in the work environment. Employees are reported to relate to such mental states as “excited, interested, alert and active” whereas where social media access is blocked employees feel “distressed, fearful, hostile and jittery”. With employees taking self regulated breaks to access social media they report that they “feel more focused on work as a result of periodic mental breaks associated with game play”, many report that they only access sites for less than 30 minutes a day. (Dyer, 2011)

media type="custom" key="25301350" [|How social media can benefit your business] (WSI Thames, 2013)

//Data//
Here is some data from approximately 600 people that were surveyed on their use of social media in the workplace. (Adapted from [] ) There was shown to be a trend towards less fear of getting caught using social media at work and being asked to use social media at work. From the people surveyed the largest proportion using social media at work were between the ages of 26 and 35, however there was still a very high proportion of use from other age ranges.



Interestingly some jobs now required the employee to use their personal social media accounts at work, this reached from the expected LinkedIn accounts to, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. It was noted that companies often asked whether employees could promote the business through their own accounts, the most common after LinkedIn was Twitter. For 17% of the respondents being required to use personal social media at work was present, and a further 25% were encouraged to do so.



It is common to have a name and profile shot of employees on corporate websites, however the publishing of social network links and personal mobile numbers was present. However using social media at work means losing some privacy due to the work environment that could contain corporate surveillance, linked accounts and multi-machine logins. 65% of the respondents minded giving up their privacy for work and stating that they would like it back. This can cause an issue for the workplace of then deciding whether or not to allow the use of social media if it is not benefitting the company directly.

Some quotes from the surveys about privacy at work:


 * “I presume that any digital information online is harvested and stored somewhere. There is no online privacy.”
 * “[I am] very concerned. I manage personal and work identities differently. I’m concerned about privacy, security and government surveillance.”
 * “I feel very strongly that my personal information should not be obtained by anyone I do not give full consent to. … I don’t like the idea of being spied on when I haven’t committed a crime.”
 * “I would rather Facebook and Google share my personal data with governments than for advertising purposes. I fully expect the NSA to be spying on me — not unaccountable app developers and businesses.”
 * “There are topics that I don’t like discussing online when somebody is standing behind me and watching.
 * “I was aware, that companies are watching for keywords to show me relevant ads. But ever since I know governments are watching it to so whatever with that, I don’t feel so secure anymore. Especially as I work as a freelancer in Germany and the online law here forces everybody to show an imprint with full address and tax number, it feels strange.”

Younger employees appear to be more aware of their privacy and more concerned than their older colleagues. (J O'Dell, 2014)

//Conclusion//
In order to conclude on Social media in the workplace it needs to be understood that social media is an environment which itself changes very quickly, within this there are ways of information being spread very quickly, either positive or negative. A business must look at its employees as address whether or not to block access to social media. If it is thought that social media should be blocked it should consider the benefits it would lose in doing so, such as a reported increase in motivation and creativity when social media use is self regulated. However, if a business decides that it is not going to restrict social media use it should implement a policy on social media use in order that employees understand the risks that they can put themselves or their employers in when sharing information on social networking. A clear policy should highlight that when an employee is speaking from work whether or not the views are their own or if they are representing the company.

Social media in the workplace is very likely here to stay, it should be embraced and correctly managed as if it is done so it can be a great asset to the company despite the risks of negative exposure.

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Decreases the risk of getting malicious software
With social media sites, people now send such things as images, videos etc. to individuals around the world. Just like with emails and receiving spam, this personal stuff may be equipped with malicious software that can corrupt the entire system. With the vast majority of information and content the internet has, malware (malicious software) has the potential to latch onto any content such as clicking on a link sent to someone in a private message on a social media site. Malware is known to be bundled with other software and can be downloaded with anyone’s knowledge. If this is the case, malware programs can threaten company privacy and security and are very difficult to remove. Restricting social media in the workplace decreases the chance of large quantities of financial reports, annual reports and networking details being completely wiped from a company’s system. Avoiding the potential to wipe the company’s entire system by banning social media sites could be seen as small sacrifice that needs to be made for the good of the workplace.

Increases the availability of bandwidth
It is known that the use of social media does not take up a huge amount of bandwidth, but with the sharing of videos and images, it can cause internal traffic. The internet in the workplace would probably be used for such factors as market research, international business requirements etc. however, the use of social media will be cause a slow process of productivity within the system itself. Furthermore, the cost for the internet would be substantial, especially for high levels of bandwidth. The cost may vary from company to company, but with a potentially high percentage of the cost of the internet being the result the entire company spending countless hours on the social media, it could be seen as the employees are losing money for the company. The restriction of social media sites will keep the purpose of the internet focused the necessities and keep internal traffic at a minimal.

Prevents identity theft
Social media sites are known to be used for criminal purposes. When individuals use these sites, they are taking the risk of placing their whole identity into cyber space, giving people the opportunity to steal their identities and commit any sort of crime using an individual’s name and face. The negative fact about social media sites is that has made identify theft remarkably easy, as people post up to date images of themselves and their entire lives, making it simple for anyone to merely choose an identity to steal. Limiting social media in the workplace can prevent any theft of an individual’s identity, as well as keeping the image of the company clean. A stolen identity can not only affect the person, but can affect the workplace too. If the thief did something discriminating, the person will be accounted for and the company image could possibly be jeopardised, forcing the employer to perceivably take drastic action, which could include termination of the employee. = =


 * The disadvantages of its use**

This next section presents the arguments against implementing social media in the workplace, because of its detrimental impact on a workforce. The main concern that business face with using social media is the time wasted by their employees that use a social media website. This loss of productivity can be prevented by removing a social media websites' availability in the workplace. The implications of time wasting may reduce project deadlines or revenue. The lack of high employee performance levels will hinder smooth business operations, as a companies reputation can be undermined by the lack of product deployment or poor customer service. The moral of the workforce is also a major concern as employees may be required to cover for the ones that use social media. This can effectively divide a workforce and distract them from the essential tasks and duties a employee is responsible for. As these demoralizing effects take place, an unsettled workforce will undermine the purpose of the work at hand. One of the main disadvantages of restricting social media from the workplace is the employees may lose trust in their employee. Employees could see the restriction as management trying to oppress them, and because of this, the level of satisfaction for their work will be lowered, which could evidently lead to a decrease in productivity. With technology changing and the need for companies to be seen as innovative and creative, the request for younger staff is now the latest trend. Because of this, it is commonly known that the use of social media is essential to some adults. Social media is not only seen as a way of interacting on a social scale, but employees use it to get their knowledge of worldly updates, facts, stats and news, and the restriction of this is known to cause people to terminate their position in a company. (Mashable, 2010) stated that, through a survey, 39% of employees between the age of 18 and 24 would rather quit than be employed at a company that restricts social media. Even though the figure does not seem large, there is a percentage of the young demographic that would rather be unemployed. (Mashable, 2010) went on to conclude that, “there is the missed opportunity to use your citizens and employees as leverage in the all-out branding war.”

Networking is an essential part of a successful company, and social media sites give the employees the opportunity to be informed about what their competition is doing. Sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn were created for the sole purpose of getting know others. It gives people the common ground to explore similar views, tastes, style and personalities. And with LinkedIn being officially about building up a portfolio and network for a career, restricting it can limit the broadness of the networking circle. These sites also include future events that can be potential network builders for employees who may need to build up their contact lists. Without the sites, knowing how prepare for such events, or even finding a common ground with potential clients can be quite difficult. As for employers, it gives them the opportunity to know more about their applicants before meeting them face to face. These days, employers look them up on social media sites to get a full understanding of who that person is behind closed doors. Companies need to be certain that the person they are hiring will be good for their image outside the office and reliable inside it.

Social media requires a measure of resources needed to use their websites, this can be particularly frustrating for a companies IT department as employees are using bandwidth but not out of necessity. This particular strain is also a demoralizing factor for a workforce because of the excess work an IT department is required to handle. In this particular case of using social media within the work environment, these websites are to be considered as non essential usage of bandwidth. It is known that the use of social media does not take up a huge amount of bandwidth, but with the sharing of videos and images, it can cause internal traffic. The internet in the workplace would probably be used for such factors as market research, international business requirements etc. however, the use of social media will be cause a slow process of productivity within the system itself. Furthermore, the cost for the internet would be substantial, especially for high levels of bandwidth. The cost may vary from company to company, but with a potentially high percentage of the cost of the internet being the result the entire company spending countless hours on the social media, it could be seen as the employees are losing money for the company. The restriction of social media sites will keep the purpose of the internet focused the necessities and keep internal traffic at a minimal.

A security concern is also a consideration for employers, as illegal hackers may be drawn to social media sites to commit malware based attacks or identify fraud. The data of users is potentially accessible and this may lead to security threats within the business. Employers that allow the use social media may become legally liable for comments or posted content that an employee makes. This would suggest that a an employer has not protected the employees from witnessing or contributing harmful material on the internet. Social media sites are known to be used for criminal purposes. When individuals use these sites, they are taking the risk of placing their whole identity into cyber space, giving people the opportunity to steal their identities and commit any sort of crime using an individual’s name and face. The negative fact about social media sites is that has made identify theft remarkably easy, as people post up to date images of themselves and their entire lives, making it simple for anyone to merely choose an identity to steal. Limiting social media in the workplace can prevent any theft of an individual’s identity, as well as keeping the image of the company clean. A stolen identity can not only affect the person, but can affect the workplace too. If the thief did something discriminating, the person will be accounted for and the company image could possibly be jeopardised, forcing the employer to perceivably take drastic action, which could include termination of the employee.

Employee Productivity
The subject of social media’s affects on employee productivity can be seen as an advantage and a disadvantage. In this era of the workplace environment, it can be debated whether the use of social media in the workplace by employees is seen as a mind settling break or a time consuming activity. The use for social media in the workplace is now a must for certain departments and certain requirements as illustrated before. However, it is argued the constant use of it slows down employees’ productivity. High productivity in the workplace is the key to a successful company. It is a common trait for employees who work continuously to either lose interest in their task or not complete it to their full potential. Employees need time to reset their own thoughts. Back in the day, this could be taking a walk or getting a cup of coffee. But since social media, people find it more relaxing socializing on a personal level. According to (Forbes, 2014) a survey was distributed by Microsoft with the results being 46% of the employees their productivity had improved due to social media, and a further 37% wished their organisation’s management would embrace it. Over the years, social media is not seen a mind booster instead of a waste of time. To further analysis of the affects social media has on employees, a study was done involving European women who proceeded to complete computer-based intelligence tests designed to prompt stress. (Word Press, 2013) explained that they were given ten minute breaks to surf the internet freely, and then continue with the tests. The study revealed that their stress levels had reduced and their productivity had increased after surfing social media sites. Social media sites could be seen as the equivalent of taking a walk for employees. While Word Press and Forbes argued that social media sites are seen as a useful tool for mind boosting, others argues that social media sites are a waste of time. (SANS, 2011) wrote about the benefits and disadvantages of social media in the workplace and disagreed about the potential of social media sites, quoting how, “Some companies are concerned about lost productivity caused by employees viewing Facebook or YouTube at the workplace instead of working. Companies all over the world put up with 45% of their employees’ productive time being wasted on these and similar sites (Satyanarayana, 2009).” Furthermore, (Bondarouk, et al, 2013) mentioned how, “a study in 2011 showed that around one third of 120 surveyed companies have taken disciplinary measures due to the abuse of social networks during working hours (O’Rourke, 2011)”. It is clear that it is not the social networks themselves that are causing the decrease in productivity, but the majority of time spent on them. The use of social media for personal matters for the employees needs to be limited to breaks as a stress reliever, however the departments and required reasons for social media in the company needs to remain that way. Social media has quite a few advantages and disadvantages when dealing with the effectiveness of productivity. It will be years before it is decided whether it is a help or a hindrance, but in the meantime, it will always be seen as an essential part of the workplace.


 * Conclusion**

The use of social media in a working environment has convincing arguments for using it and for banning it. It is inconclusive how it can affect a particular business because of the unpredictable nature of how employees react to the social media presence at work. The impact of its implementation within the workplace will only be seen if the risk is taken. However, as a number of businesses have reported an increase in productivity, the potential disadvantages that can occur may prove to be detrimental to the productivity and operations of a business.


 * References**

Bennet, S (2013). Social media Increases office productivity. MediaBistro. (Online) Available at: https://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-media-workplace-survey_b45390. [Last Accessed: 24/04/2014].

Electronic Perspectives (2012). 'Social Media Enhance Productivity'. Mckinsey global institute. 37 (2) Pp.17-18

Patel, L (2010) 'The Rise of Social Media'. T+D, 64 (2) Pp.60-61

Starr, M (2013). Want productive workers? Let them use Facebook. Cnet. (Online) Available at: http://www.cnet.com.au/want-productive-workers-let-them-use-facebook-339343355.htm. [Last Accessed: 24/04/2014].

Word Press (2010) Word Press: Social Media: The Power to Increase Productivity, Collaborate and Improve Employee Performance in the Workplace [Online] Available from: []

Pozin, I (2014) Forbes: 4 Surprising Truths about Workplace Productivity [Online] Available from: []

Bondarouk, T (2013) Social Media in Strategic Management. [Google Book] Emerald Group Publishing. Available from: [|http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=keZbAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA189&dq=decrease+in+productivity+due+to+social+networking&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8H91U9_uEsm8Oa-SgYgH&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=decrease%20in%20productivity%20due%20to%20social%20networking&f=false]

Mashable (2010) Mashable: Why Banning Social Media Often Backfires [Online] Available from: []

Howard (2014) The Day: Key to social media is targeting, panel says [Online] Available from: []

SANS (2014): SANS Institute InfoSec Reading Room: Reducing the Risks of Social Media to Your Organization [Online] Available from: []

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