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Pros and Cons of allowing Social Media Usage at the Workplace

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Pros and Cons of allowing Social Media Usage at the Workplace

There is a raging debate in the corporate world about whether allowing social media usage at the workplace for employees can prove beneficial or damaging for an organization.

Over the past decade, social media has become an integral part of the everyday life of most people.

Social-Media

The rise of smartphones has further popularized the use of various social media networks by providing instant access to these platforms.

From being a novelty to becoming an addiction for countless people, the growth of social media has been over the past several years has been truly phenomenal.

More than 70% of people with internet access today use at least one of the eight popular social media platforms regularly.

Social Media Usage at Work – Is it a Boon or a Bane?

Employee Recognition On Social Media - The Great Debate!

The desire to stay constantly connected and updated makes employees feel the need to use social media at work.

However, many organizations consider the use of social media at work as just an unproductive activity.

Instagramer

While on the one hand social media usage at work can drain the productivity of the employees, the appropriate use of social networking for marketing and other activities can also prove immensely beneficial for organizations.

Hence, it is not surprising that the policy for the usage of social media in the workplace often crosses a fine line.

There are strong opinions both in favor of and opposing the use of this technology in the workplace.

That is why organizations need to carefully consider the pros and cons before devising an effective social media policy.

What are the Pros and Cons of Social Media Usage in the Workplace?

Work from Home

Like any other technology, social media comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Having a clear understanding of both these aspects is essential to assess its impact on employee productivity and performance.

Here are the most important pros and cons that can help organizations strike a perfect balance between the use of social media at work and employee performance.

What are the ‘Pros’ of Social Media Usage at the Workplace?

1. Boosts employee morale and engagement

Personalization

Allowing employees access to social media sites is known to boost their morale and engagement level.

This is because the freedom to check their social media accounts even while working enhances the happiness of employees.

Consequently, they tend to be more productive, friendly, and loyal, which proves to be a win-win situation for any organization.

2. Enhances employer branding

Understand The Relevance Of Customer Recommendation

When employees are allowed to use social media at work, the chances of them posting positive and fun things about the organization increase considerably.

This helps to create a positive brand image for the organization and improve its employer branding among prospective candidates.

3. It reduces employee distraction

Performance and Productivity of Work from Home Employees

It is human nature to be more focused and constantly curious about something that people are preventing from doing.

This applies to social media usage as well and employees are likely to be more distracted by their inability to access their profiles than when they are allowed to do so.

4. Helps strengthen workplace relationships

Social-Visibility

Social media sites provide a platform for people to communicate in an informal setting.

This can help to strengthen workplace relationships by providing co-workers and managers with a platform to interact with the employees in a more open and frank manner.

5. Promote the building of professional networks

Communication

Social media channels such as LinkedIn are being increasingly used to build professional connections and networks.

This can prove extremely beneficial for businesses as the employees can leverage these social media connections to enhance their workplace performance and productivity.

In addition, they can use the information gained through these networks for business promotion and other value-adding activities.

What are the ‘Cons’ of Social Media Usage at the Workplace?

1. Misuse by employee

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It is a well-acknowledged fact that social media usage has turned into an addiction for a large number of people today.

For employees addicted to this habit, nothing can be better than the freedom to access their social media profiles at work.

Such employees are likely to misuse this freedom and waste their valuable time simply viewing their profile and updating their status.

2, Leakage of confidential data

Measure The Impact Of The Program

Social media usage requires internet access and if that is not secured, it can provide online criminals with easy access to vital and confidential data of the company.

In addition, it also provides business competitors with countless opportunities to learn about key business strategies and gain competitive advantage.

3. Increases the possibility of a virus attack

Determine What Systems Are Required

The freedom to use social media also makes it possible for employees to download malicious content from social media platforms.

This increases the possibility of a virus or malware attack on the laptops and computers as well as the corporate systems through the internal corporate network.

This can result in a major financial loss as well as a loss of reputation for the organization.

Bottom-line

Social media, when used responsibly can boost employee motivation and performance significantly. This can be ensured only through a flexible but comprehensive social media policy outlining appropriate and inappropriate behavior concerning social media usage at work.

Sagar Chaudhuri

Lead author: Sagar Chaudhuri, the Co-Founder and CEO of HiFives. He is an HR Tech Evangelist with over 25 years of experience in the corporate world and entrepreneurship. In the past, Sagar has worked with companies such as Genpact, Infosys, and ICICI Bank, in leadership roles. He has an engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Lucknow. Connect on LinkedIn

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HiFives is a global employee rewards, recognition and engagement SaaS platform that enables organizations to digitize, automate and transform their employee experience. It is used by 100+ large enterprises, small businesses and startups in manufacturing, retail, technology, financial services and media, across 25+ countries.