The emergence of social media has created a division of opinions regarding its applicability in the professional world.
Considered by many to be an enemy of productivity, social media currently plays an important role in the digital market. Increasingly, companies' activity on these networks is attracting customers, consolidating brands, and increasing sales.
However, activity on these platforms is still surrounded by controversy: after all, are social networks friends or enemies of productivity?
Social networks increase productivity in the workplace
This was the conclusion of a study conducted by Warwick Business School , located in England.
According to this study, the use of social media in the workplace goes beyond mere distraction. What was observed was that the variety of social media platforms contributes to people's ability to perform their work activities.
The option of using digital communication facilitated by social networks contributes to the more efficient completion of collective tasks. Furthermore, it enables employees to respond to customer requests more quickly.
The rapid access to information that social networks allow for new business models should be seen as an empowerment of the employee, and not an overload of work.
The study also suggests that companies should ensure their employees can control their own access to the flow of information, connecting and disconnecting whenever necessary.
Obviously, this approach would assume that employees are mature enough to discern when and why to use social media to boost productivity. In practice, however, it's quite different. We'll discuss this further later.
Social networks as a reliable and fast source of information
Nowadays, it's possible to search for anything on Google. While this has opened new horizons in terms of access to information, it also represents a major problem.
There is no way to guarantee that the information you seek will find a reliable and appropriate source to solve your problem. In short, people post whatever they want on the internet, and as a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult to verify the accuracy of this information before reproducing it, which can jeopardize your company's reputation.
In this respect, the social network becomes very valuable, because when searching for specific information, the user can receive answers from contacts who are qualified to provide that information.
Therefore, by directing your question to social media, you are able to receive more useful, accurate, and faster information than if you searched on a search engine.
The invaluable worth of networking
Social networks contribute to building a network that will help employees perform their duties better.
By building a suitable network using the relevant work social network, your employees can obtain important tips and advice, stay up-to-date on the main trends in the sector, and have the opportunity to expand their knowledge through webinars and online courses offered on the platform itself.
Furthermore, companies can benefit from the capabilities of appropriate social media platforms to discover new talent that can enrich their team and strengthen their business model.
The benefits are there. The pitfalls of productivity are too.
In contrast to the results of the study cited above, some companies view the advent of social media as a trap for productivity.
While for some market segments the relevance of social media has grown exponentially and these platforms are used as important tools for establishing new business models, others treat digital communication with rejection.
While both perspectives are correct, the usefulness of social media ultimately becomes closely tied to how employees use it. A social network in itself is neither good nor bad for business: it simply is. It is how it is used that will define its relationship with productivity.
Another study uSamp research institute concluded that the spread of collaboration tools and social media causes companies to lose millions of dollars annually due to lost productivity.
According to the study, the three main reasons for the loss of productivity are:
- Constant breaks from work
A survey conducted using over 500 email users indicates that 60% of frequent work breaks are due to the use of social media, text messages, and instant messaging, as well as email.
53% of these users spend about 1 hour a day due to distractions. Furthermore, 45% of the above number only work for 15 minutes without distractions.
- Distraction as a choice
It's one thing for a focused employee to be interrupted. It's quite another for them to choose to stop what they're doing to browse social media.
The study commissioned by Harmon.ie indicates that two out of three people said they interrupt their work-related activities to contact another person digitally.
However, the biggest productivity killer was email, which 48% of those interviewed said they used during these moments of distraction. In second place were cell phone calls (35%). Next were text messages (25%) and social media status updates (12%).
- Difficulty maintaining focus
The biggest problem with constant interruptions is the difficulty in maintaining focus on work-related activities.
Breaks prevent employees from having the flow of thought and concentration needed to perform their duties properly.
Common sense should always prevail
While tools that block access to social networks and certain websites can alienate and hinder the work of employees, the indiscriminate use of these resources and tools can become the greatest enemy of productivity.
The best approach is undoubtedly education. Training your employees to develop critical thinking skills that allow them to access tools and use them judiciously demonstrates that your business model is capable of integrating freedom and functionality in a balanced way.
