There is another reason for employers to be wary about jumping into the digital world.
In its fourth annual survey on the growth and impact of Internet collaborations, FaceTime Communications confirmed what we all already knew: the use of LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube at work is widespread.
79% of workers stated they use social networking at work for professional reasons—career networking, research, and spying on colleagues were cited as the primary activities.
A slightly higher percentage (82) admitted to using social media at work for personal reasons, and more than half said they did so at least once per workday.
It would seem that if personal use of social media at work is not ok, organizations that incorporate it into their internal communications plan may be sending a mixed message to employees.
Thinking perhaps there’s a silver lining in all this social networking, Nielsen recently set out to prove that social media use actually decreases e-mail volume. Unfortunately, they were wrong.
Instead, Nielsen announced earlier this week its findings that high use of social networking directly correlates with more time spent on e-mail. In fact, the group described as “high social media users” spent on average more than 180 minutes per day digesting e-mail messages.
Read: Nielsen’s Jon Gibs, VP, Media Analytics, on “Is Social Media Impacting How Much We E-mail?”
We’ve all seen the articles criticizing too much e-mail for its negative effects on work productivity. Is using social media in organizations, then, a double-edged sword?
Great question…using social media at work is a double edged sword. As much as it is a great opportunity to network, I feel that it actually decreases productivity in most organizations. Instead, companies should hold sessions where employees can network with other individuals live rather than through emails etc. That way, they are learning to communicate more effectively and also wasting less time on the internet checking all of these websites during work hours.
Hi John, I certainly agree that the use of certain social media tools is a drain on productivity, but what about when it’s the organization’s own Intranet or blog? Or a professional blog? Also, it’s an interesting question for organizations who employ remote workers – Web 2.0 tools seem like they may actually be a good way to keep those employees involved. But I wonder if it’s a slippery slope. ~Cristina