Introduction
The term social media refers to a group of interactive technologies that enable individuals to form online communities and networks through which they can generate new content and share it with others regardless of physical location. Due to the development of new technologies, all businesses have widely adopted social media platforms. Despite its numerous benefits for businesses, it has had substantial detrimental repercussions in the workplace. Addiction to social media has severe ramifications for employees of an organization, and these implications may affect the organization’s overall productivity.
Consequences of Social Media on Employees’ Productivity in the Workplace
Social media has diminished thoughtfulness and comprehension among employees. People spend so much time online that they cannot comprehend the feelings of others. Social media has created a universe where norms differ from the actual world, and as a result, it has destroyed thoughtfulness. Social media fosters laziness because reaching a friend or coworker is as simple as clicking a button (Zivnuska et al., 2019). It makes life so convenient and straightforward that it encourages lethargy among its users.
Employees who are firmly addicted to social media have an increased risk of performing their jobs in a relatively less efficient and more unprofessional manner than their colleagues. They have the propensity to lose attention, which leads to an increase in the number of errors made, which reduces the organization’s total productivity. The use of social media in the workplace may lead to several system errors, particularly in those that call for significant levels of bandwidth, such as corporate emails. The company’s speed and productivity may suffer due to the updates and video links available on social media sites. These features can consume enormous bandwidth and may slow down the company’s operations.
Importance of Studying Effects of Social Media
It is essential to research this subject because it can have both positive and harmful effects on the organization of a corporation. It also provides employees and organizations with a way forward on the measures to take to ensure that its adverse effects do not harm the organization’s productivity (Wu et al., 2018). As a result, all corporate institutions and those working for them need to concentrate on the significance of social media in their day-to-day activities. This study will concentrate on analyzing both the positive and negative effects of excessive use of social media on employees’ overall productivity.
Literature Review
Employees being allowed to use social networking sites while on the job can have unintended consequences for the organization. Several academics have concluded that social media has a favorable impact on any given institution when appropriately used. In their study, Zivnuska and colleagues (2019) highlight how diverse companies might utilize social media to sell their products. They did warn, however, that if social media is not adequately regulated, it can be abused by personnel who use it for their purposes to the firm’s detriment. Furthermore, employees may become addicted to numerous platforms and spend more time on these platforms than working (Wu et al., 2018). Such habits might harm the enterprise, resulting in low productivity. The research conducted by Priyadarshini, and colleagues (2020), provides a literal interpretation of why using social media while on the job should be discouraged. Using Facebook and other social networks during working hours resulted in a 1.5 percent decrease in employee productivity.
Conclusion
It is worth noting that social media is an excellent source of relevant information that can lead to high productivity within the organization. Providing employees access to social networks at work can increase their overall job performance. The platforms make communication between all the stakeholders involved easy, and the exchange of ideas is possible. Consumers can voice their complaints through the platform, which the management addresses immediately (Zivnuska et al., 2019). The sites promote information exchange and address higher-level desires for belonging. The comprehensive literature analysis conducted as part of the research is critical to generating background material for the investigation. In other words, the empirical findings on social media usage in the workplace are already available. Access to social media platforms lowered employee productivity in certain firms while increasing productivity in others.
References
Priyadarshini, C., Dubey, R. K., Kumar, Y. L. N., & Jha, R. R. (2020). Impact of a social media addiction on employees’ Well-being and work productivity. The Qualitative Report, 25(1), 181-196.
Wu, M., Yang, C., Wang, C., Zhao, J. L., Wu, S., & Liang, L. (2018). Distraction or connection? An investigation of social media use at work. In Proceedings of the 51st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.
Zivnuska, S., Carlson, J. R., Carlson, D. S., Harris, R. B., & Harris, K. J. (2019). Social media addiction and social media reactions: The implications for job performance. The Journal of social psychology, 159(6), 746-760.