A Pew Research study conducted in in 2014 of more than 2,000 American adults ultimately finds that social media plays a role in all of their lives. In some cases, that role was not always clear cut or positive but the survey finds what we all know already – social media is omnipresent in just about every part of our lives – including work.
Most of the 2,003 adults surveyed were employed on a full or part-time basis, and admitted that they turned to social media while at work for either a mental break and to connect with friends or family.
Only 20-percent of those queried used social media for work-purposes, and 24-percent use it to connect with other professionals. Thirty-four percent use social media while at work to take a mental break from their job.
An interesting find shows that adults use social media at work to learn more about their colleagues. Results suggest that some 14-percent of workers have found information on social media that has improved their professional opinion of a colleague; at the same time, 16-percent have found information on social media that has lowered their professional opinion of a colleague. We don’t have to look very hard to see some examples of how quickly a social media gaffe can create huge problems for employee and employer.
In a similar vein, the study also found that younger workers were more likely to use social media to look up facts about a colleague – and have that search result in having a lower opinion of the person they queried. The research also discovered that younger workers were more likely to find facts in social media that improved their impression of the colleague in question, a reminder that for individuals, reputation management is an important consideration. By comparison, just 12% of workers ages 30 to 49 and 9% of workers ages 50 to 64 have experienced this, according to the Pew Study.
Many workplaces today have social media policies that dictate when and how employees can use social media as well as how employees may display themselves on social media. Also many companies encourage employees to consider how their social media use can have as much impact on the company’s brand management strategy as customer reviews. The Pew study found that 51-percent of workers reported there was a policy in place about the usage of social media and 32-percent reported their management also had rules spelling out how employees are allowed to show themselves on social media sites.
Not surprisingly, policy or not, 77-percent of workers surveyed use social media regardless of the rules. In addition, employees said they use social media (regardless of the rules) for supporting professional contacts; learning more about someone they work with; as well as building and strengthening relationships with co-workers.
A small group of those surveyed said they use social media for work-related purposes. For instance, 19-percent said they use Facebook for work while 14-percent use LinkedIn. Only 3% use Twitter for work purposes and nine-percent use work-related social media tools provided by their employers.
Overall, the Pew Study demonstrated that 56-percent of workers feel that social media does in fact distract “from the work they do.” That said, a large percentage of those surveyed also felt that social media provides a nice break and recharge from the daily grind. Finally, 56-percent of workers feel that ultimately, despite the challenges, social media improves job performance.
Reputation Rhino
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- Social Media In the Workplace - October 25, 2016