Use of social media at work is actually good, says research paper
Posted on: 09/Jun/2016 5:23:16 PM
A paper by a team of researchers in China says that the use of social media at work doubles up as a means of self-therapy when young workers end up in jobs that aren’t right for them. The theoretical research paper was published in the journal Employee Relations.
According to the research, the use of social media at work can be a positive thing, as long as it’s done in moderation. The researchers say, A little bit of personal social media can spur creativity and give workers an outlet for their stress. However, they also say that too much social media use makes people unproductive and often signals that the person feels alienated from his or her job.
The theory says that students who go to good schools are under the impression that they will have great, fulfilling, fascinating jobs as soon as they hit the workforce. The reality, especially for more average students, is usually quite different. When their jobs turn out not to be fulfilling, young people often turn to various coping outlets - particularly social sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - to help mitigate the stress that comes with their new jobs.
The researchers say that a small amount of time spent on Facebook (or the social network of your choice) can actually reduce stress, increase creativity and make young people better at their jobs.
Says one of the authors of the paper, who is also a professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, (I) can’t quite define that threshold (when social media use becomes negative), but (I) know it when (I) see it. The line should be at where one’s non-work-related social media use does not affect their job performance.
