SHRM.org has an excellent post that highlights 7 Ways to Maximize Benefit and Minimize Risk of social media screening: Never ask for passwords. SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE AT WORK. Social media can be a powerful communication tool for employees, helping them to collaborate, share ideas and solve problems. The future of business is a networked future. Over 34 percent of people use social media during work hours to take a mental break. Essay on Employee Social Media Use Policy ivoryresearch.com On the other hand, employee complaints are not protected if they are not made in relation to group activity among other employees. This, of course, is hard to manage from a policy perspective. You can get this with your employees on social networking sites. 50% of employees already post about their company online. Media Leaders - Learn How To Shine Online. Do not allow employees to post content that could easily be viewed as obscene, threatening, intimidating, harassing or bullying. Far from leading to endless desk-based selfies, integrating employee engagement platforms into your working days can lead to office-wide smiles and increased engagement that provides a much-needed boost to your profits and productivity. The plus points that put social media up for discussion Agreed! What are some methods you use to build a personal brand? Employees may become so involved in chatting with friends on social media that they neglect to perform their daily tasks in an efficient manner. Crimes of defamation, discrimination and harassment can hold the employer responsible initially or completely. including when an employee is not at work and not using government equipment; (2) reiterates the relevant attorney rules of professional conduct that apply to . Related: What are some pros and cons of using technology in the workplace? 5 Pros of Social Media in the Workplace 1. Many companies use Internet Usage policies describing what is allowed and not allowed while using the Internet at work. When To Allow Social Media at Work Social media can at times be a great distraction from the work at hand. Social media use adds very few positives to a work environment, but it can be used in a responsible way to communicate with coworkers and customers. If an employer decides to grant social media breaks, Wrigley cautions them not to run afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires them to pay workers . These days, we suggest that companies first start internally by setting KPIs (key performance indicators) for each employee, department and the company. Julia McKenna, Founder and CEO, Managerine. Personal Use of social media in an employee's private life Most experts say personal use of social media on company time shouldn't be prohibited, but employees should be encouraged to limit it in the same way they restrict their personal telephone calls or Internet use. Make sure policies are enforced consistently. Increases productivity. Bear in mind that, to ensure success with free usage in this area, you will want to consider the different employee engagement options available and the benefits each stands to bring. While you might not initially think so, social media offers personal development. You're giving them the freedom to work and take short breaks to scroll through their social media platforms. Summarising major risks that a company may face with employees' use of social media on corporate devices Misuse of work time Misuse of company resources A risk to the company network and corporate data The core issue is probably not the employee's access to social media, but rather some other performance or workplace issue. Other than that it needs to be understood that social media is a part of life, 24/7. the CEO Has charged you with developing a social media policy that employees can reference when using social media in the workplace. Both public and private posts should be kept confidential, and employees should not be allowed to post without first getting permission from their supervisor. I would highly recommend allowing social networking in your company -- even if only experimentally. Like most things, there are pros and cons to this. When I've been stuck on an idea, I call out to my followers on Twitter or Facebook to get a deluge of answers. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when creating social media policies: Use of social media by employees at work can be a source of distraction and irritation. Related: How can technology be used in the workplace to improve communication? A further study by the Pew Research Centre (2016) found that staff used social media during work hours for many purposes, the top four reasons being: to take a mental break from work (34%), to contact family and friends (27%), to develop their professional network (24%) and to help solve work problems (20%). In reality, though, social media usage done right does also offers workplace benefits. Whether employees are moaning to their mates or posting pictures of their packed lunches, social networking sites can eat up untold amounts of work time, and leave your company struggling as a result. I am here, however, to suggest that there can be a backlash from that approach. People who are adept at using social media well will ensure that they use strong privacy settings which will not allow companies to dig the information out, other possibilities are that the employer can create a fake account to mislead the companies for the information. This is up 81% and 60% from last year, respectively. Increased reliance on social media can also lead to a sense of disconnection among employees, which could lead to employee theft or other disciplinary issues. Yes, employees are allowed to use personal social media at work. Worryingly though, around 20% of the links on any Facebook feed contain viruses. The cons of allowing an employee to use social media is when an employee takes advantage of a company's leniency and then misses out on their work which leads to delay in the entire work process. Let's find out more about How Can Parents Better Manage Their Teenager's Use of Technology and the Internet?. Employees may be able to access social media when they are not working. If you treat your employees like adults and trust them, there is no reason not to let them be on social media throughout the day, unless you see they are not getting work done. Ensure that the policy contains details about the following: When they are allowed to use it (e.g. However, I don't think there should be a blanket policy of no social media use due to one bad egg. Abstract There is a dilemma for HR executives concerning social media policies: Should HR managers allow employees to use social media while at work? It will make them feel valued (it's like a little perk of the job). Are employees allowed to use social media at work? Pros of social media use in the workplace are that it boost morale and employee engagement. Employees' social media content reaches 561% further than official company channels and receives 800% more engagement. We've seen it from every level of business and government. Employees feel comfortable around you and are more likely to bring up new ideas that can boost your business. An effective social media policy also has the power to increase productivity, efficiency and security for your business. For me, that means allowing them to check their texts, social media, or other platforms during the workday. I've seen people say negative things about their job on social media during work hours, but that could also happen after work. On the downside, however, social media might also allow for distractions from work (such as time spent on comparative websites or imitating friends on social media). However, company policy should allow employees to use social media at work, but a cautious approach should be used to ensure its use does not overshadow the positive aspects of the workplace. How Can Technology Improve Communication In the Workplace? I believe it affects them and the company positively because I do not have to trouble myself with controlling my employees time. Thats sure to help your companys bottom line in the long-run, and it neednt cost you a penny. Our social media company policy provides a framework for using social media. Use social. Additionally, social media can be a great way for employees to connect with one another and build relationships. There have been plenty of memos sent to some of my coworkers whose work quality and productivity have plummeted due to their inability to tear themselves away from browsing through social media. At MediaLeaders.com, we believe in working with professionals who can accomplish their tasks without micromanaging. Only 20 percent use social networks to get information that actually helps them at work. What are the benefits of using social media in the workplace? Some employees take breaks by surfing through their social media feed. Personal development Be consistent. And although you might not think so, this can quickly snowball into a PR nightmare, especially as more and more young employees -- who depend upon social networking -- join the workforce. But if they see a company deliberately squelching the employee voice and hiding behind the walls of security and information blocking, there will be a backlash. The moral of the story is: don't blame Facebook. All rights reserved. That's a daunting task.Imagine blocking Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr - but then Ins. Developers are a very sharing group and post solutions to the problems they encounter on their blog. It is a digital and social media world we are living in with the use of social media, blogging, video tablets and smartphones only growing in popularity. Your employer, naturally, would. What they are not allowed to share (e.g . In a traditional work environment, we're too attached to the idea of if you are paying someone hourly, you want them working, or at least pretending to work, for that full hour even if the employee is less productive working that way than working in their own fashion. ). Laura Tolhoek, HR Consultant, Essential HR. The work that I and some other employees performed required web searching for information on various other companies and employers for clients and sites were constantly being blocked necessitating a trip to the web site manager to get permission granted to look at the sites (for example: Burton Snowboards being blocked as a sports site when we were doing corporate research). Good employees won't abuse it and may use it for your advantage! How to let your employees use social media at work without losing their focus October 7, 2014 - 4:10 pm. Employers may choose to block social media access in order to limit this. Essentially, being able to check social media can make your employees happy (for a variety of reasons). Provide a list of recommendations for monitoring and regulating social media use.-Word count must be at least 1,350 words . To help keep you out of trouble, we asked a lawyer, a HR expert and a tech specialist for their advice. If you don't have strong security, and/or your employees aren't particularly computer-savvy, it can be a big risk to take. The important thing is to properly screen your candidates so that you are hiring mature, responsible people who know better than to be irresponsible on social media - no matter if they were on it at work or not. See how it affects performance and morale and then decide whether it's a perk worth keeping. All it takes is a message on Slack with a link to a tweet, Facebook or LinkedIn post asking them to like, share or otherwise get the word out, for your company's social media posts to get exponentially more traction organically than they otherwise would. No ones saying that you should entirely lift workplace bans on certain websites. Social media is a great platform for employees and . For example, if an employee has a personal account on their work computer, they can access it while they are working. The question has no easy answer because there are . 80% of workers use social media on the job. Being able to talk directly to consumers might be fantastic for your profits, but paying employees to browse social media at work isnt exactly going to impress. While social media can be an ideal platform for effectively building an organization's brand and image, improper use of social media accounts by employees can be damaging. Social media policy wikipedia.org 2. It can also be a great tool that can be utilized by your employees, depending on how it is used. Samantha (Hulkower) Paperin, Director of Marketing, KSW Solutions. You want your company and your employees at the forefront of that trend. As an employer, you can help them leverage LinkedIn 's features to share ideas . Published by Emma Saldanha on Thursday February 16th, 2017 and updated on Friday April 9th, 2021. Employer has a responsibility to establish and communicate clear policies that prohibit employees from using personal social media (e.g. WhileBlock Sites may be the best decision initially, it may be overruled if there are any problems or occurrences that are not allowed on company-wide social media sites. Often, it can be tricky to distinguish personal opinions from those of the company. Such a set of rules ensures that the demands of an employer are clear, and workers understand their limitations when it comes to the Internet and social media usage. This is why countless employers spend hours banning certain sites or restricting personal use. I get it You're completely convinced that allowing your employees to get on Facebook and Twitter would pull the rug out from under your bottom line. Q: 1.On 1 July 2021, OZ Ltd grants 20 share options to each of its 100 employees working in the sales department. However, it is best to communicate an informal policy to your employees that they are free to use social media as long as it does not interfere with their work. Let's find out more about What Is the Dark Side of the Internet?. At some point, your employees may have to use social networking to market and sell your product. Let us know: contact[at]thedigitalwhale.com. Guidelines for Using Social Media harvard.edu. Many of these apps even allow you to celebrate employees successes on a social timeline, making them feel valued. Let's say you get your IT department to block access to specific social sites. This policy applies to all associates who work for [Employer], or one of its subsidiary companies in the United States ( [Employer]). Furthermore, even if you block social media platforms on your network, they can still use their smartphones to access the websites so there's no point in blocking them. Supporters say companies need to accept some social-media risk to be successful. Related: What are the benefits of using mobile technology in service based businesses? With the above in mind, its easy to see that this isnt a cut and dry issue. There are many individuals who are addicted to immediately seeing what notification they received on their phone while others find it too distracting and troublesome. 1. Whether you work within a retail or office setting, allowing mobile and computer access to the best business-specific employee engagement apps and networks comes complete with advantages like workplace recognition, improved inter-business connections, and even widespread morale. Potential of a Virus - There's still a technological problem to think about. Dare I say "free advertising"? The question has no easy answer because there are conflicting views on the matter. Because our society is on a collision course with an even further embedding of social media into our lives. For example, Had the opportunity to spend the day procuring products from up and coming local retailers! It sometimes can be a pain to get them unblocked. I think that if these social media tools are used to/in the realm of business to increase awareness/marketing/promotional uses then perhaps that is not a bad idea but let's also be real to the fact that a lot of employees mis-use company time to socialize on a purely personal basisand I don't agree with that. When employees know that you trust them to manage their time effectively and aren't going to micromanage their work, you can build trust and commitment to the organization. Upvote (1) Downvote Reply ( 0) Report 98% will screen their LinkedIn profiles, 68% Facebook, and 26% Twitter. Today's consumers and society eat that up. work, this tactic has been effective in getting new clients Another study conducted by Nucleus Research Can IT and publicising the organization. This suggests, that if CISOs continue to permit their employees to chat on various unprotected social networks rather than secure ones, these incidents are certain to increase, and likely to happen to about all businesses this coming year. Keep track of employee's online activity. What are some good things to do when your child falls asleep in screen time? That's an average of nine working weeks, all because you allowed employees to use social media. The answer, as many times in life, is: it depends. Moreover, using social media allows employees to stay updated and catch up on any new trends and opportunities that may come up online. This includes but is not limited to during non-work hours. It can allow your employees to have mental breaks and relax for a while. However, the conflicting views can be resolved if we focus on the individuals with whom an employee interacts through social media. Answered over 90d ago. On the plus side, social media can help employees share information about your company's products and services directly with their customers. Performance & security by Cloudflare. Does this mean that scrolling through Instagram will help your employees come up with the next ground-breaking innovation for your company? There are pros and cons to allowing employees to use social media during work hours. It will all depend on the employee and the employer. Blocking social media access is a costly exercise that simply doesn't work. Consider the 2013 incident when a photo of a young Taco Bell employee licking a stack of taco shells ended up on the company's Facebook page. Social networking facilitates collaboration internally, but it also lets users collaborate with the entire world. We have made a list of pros and cons of using social media in the workplace. Whether you're handling a corporate account or using one of your own, you should remain productive and avoid damaging our . In fact, it's just about the most immediate form of communication you can find. Company policy should discourage its use. Active social networkers are those who spend more than 30 percent . 98% of employees have social media for personal use. The following is an outline of how we at [ name of company] expect you to use social media while you are an employee of ours. Your reputation is everything in business. There is a dilemma for HR executives concerning social media policies: Should HR managers allow employees to use social media while at work? 109.73.80.135 Cons to an employee using social media during work hours: When employees excessively use social media during work hours (time theft). 2. When an employee uses social media websites while at work, the employer can face liability concerns because of the access to and use of social media while the person is working for another individual or an entity. No, employees are not allowed to surf social media at work. 2. Lost productivity The cons of allowing an employee to use social media is when an employee takes advantage of a company's leniency and then misses out on their work which leads to delay in the entire work process. 1. Social media is a place where people exchange information, opinions and experiences to learn, develop and have fun. Do not allow any incorrect, confidential or non-public content about the company or your clients to be posted on social media. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. I worked for a company that used a tool to block all social media and any other websites, content and information deemed to be non-work related. Social media use adds very few positives to a work environment, but it can be used in a responsible way to communicate with coworkers and customers. (like social media . Allowing your employees to participate in social networking illustrates to your employees' social circle that you mean business when it comes to employee retention and happiness. Use dedicated social platforms to increase employee engagement. Professional use of social media But let's see if you can be swayed. A waste of time One of the biggest concerns about allowing workers to use social media at the workplace is the wastage of precious time. Studies are conflicted over whether using social media in the workplace detracts from productivity. Work-life balance is important as well as an employees quality of work environment. Yes, employees should be ethically allowed to use social media at work. Cyberbullying and Its Effects On Teenagers. Below is an explanation of when to allow social media, and when its use is not acceptable. If that happens, productivity could be set to suffer regardless. Story by Ritika Puri. Social media is like a black hole that sucks you in and spits you back out hours later, with no idea how your precious time just flew by in the blink of an eye. Several issues can come up, and lead to disciplinary action no matter your privacy settings. Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. Social networking brings to businesses a boon of free advertising. The NLRB and Social Media nlrb.gov Social networking can actually help you in the long run, and I want to try to open your eyes to this fact. For today's employees, the internet is an integral part of everyday life. If you want to monitor an employee's online presence, you can use Google Analytics or other software to do so. Social media nlrb.gov In this society, caring goes a long way. However, there are some cons to using social media at work. The balance between these two is the key to successfully allowing employees to use social media during work hours. Worker morale was horrible. Out of the 62% of employees who accessed social media during working hours, nearly 83% of them spend significant time browsing Facebook. Do not include information that could be harmful or disruptive to others working in the office. Personal use of social media like listening to music or watching videos during breaks can help make work more enjoyable and less stressful. Privacy Policy. Reputational damage Social media such as Facebook, Twitter Instagram and LinkedIn, are Internet-based services that provide individuals a way to interact with each other online. Increased morale/engagement (And I think that meshes with your concluding point, Okezie. Blocking all social media sites will not motivate employees to work harder if they feel disengaged in their job. Put down in writing what you deem to be an acceptable use of social media at work and be specific but not draconian. Social media at work reduces the stress as employees are kept well informed 24 7even about certain important developments at the home front. Thats an impressive percentage, and one that any manager dealing with different departments will want to consider. Employee use of social media in the workplace doesn't necessarily adversely affect productivity. Pros of social media in the workplace 1.
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