There are multiple reasons why social networking in the workplace may be a bad thing. One obvious reason is that it takes time away from the reason you are getting paid, which is to actually work. If you are using social networking simply to find out what your friends are doing in the coming weekend, or to upload pictures of your pets, you are probably wasting valuable time that could be spent on more important things that will benefit the company you work for. Another aspect of social networking that many people do not take into consideration is that, as an employee, you represent the company you work for. If people are being irresponsible with their social networking, it could reflect badly on the company. People need to be aware that the things they post on their social networks can have big consequences not only for themselves, but also with who and what they are affiliated with.
Social networking can also have some positive benefits in
the workplace. When used efficiently, it can be used as a great marketing
tactic. Spreading the word about your business on social networks can create a
great awareness for your company and the products/services you offer. It can
also reach new markets of people that may otherwise not hear about your business.
Another way it could be useful in the workplace is by being a great method of
communication. For example, if you were “friends” with your employees on
Facebook, you could message back and forth about work-related issues.
Because there are pro’s and con’s to social networking in
the workplace, I believe that the type of impact it makes depends on how it is
used. What is your view of social networking in the workplace?
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I agree with you. Social media in the workplace can be a distraction; and for this very reason, many employers have websites such as Facebook and Twitter blocked. The good side to social media, like you mentioned is the marketing aspect. Some companies hire social media correspondents who blog and run social media websites for the company. They connect with popular people on social media to help represent the brand, offer coupons, and connect with the customers on a more personal level.
ReplyDeleteSo it all depends on the type of company. I could see a clothing line benefiting from social media more than, lets say, an accounting firm.
You bring up a good point when you said that social media inside the workplace can be beneficial. Creating a "work group" on Facebook or simply direct messaging colleagues on Twitter can bring a more friendly, lax feel to an otherwise drab topic of discussion. Structures of the workplace are still kept in tact, while flowing conversation on work matters are delved into. Maybe in this way, more can be accomplished. Of course, pressing matters should be discussed through email or another form of communication less likely to be accidentally sent to the wrong people.
ReplyDeleteI agree that social networking in the workplace can be beneficial in some cases. If a company chooses to use social networking as a means to advertise they should hire employees and make that their main concern to promote the business through social media. Outside of that position, employees should have no other reason to be social networking in the workplace outside of its use for data analytics. Any opening for people to misuse the internets will most likely lead to just that. limiting that access in the workplace is very important
ReplyDeleteI also believe that certain aspects of social networking can be helpful to a workplace to help business and business relations. Once the use of social networking steps out of appropriate business reasons it is unnecessary.
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ReplyDeleteI think it depends on the type of work environment you are in, the use of social networks could be a positive move for the administration to make. Also, I would think that the use of social networks in any workplace environment would be a positive thing. By giving workers time to relieve their stresses from work, more work could get done since those workers would have had some time to relax.
If you have a really stressful job, the only thing you might think about is leaving. However, if workers were able to get a 5-10 minute break, maybe twice a day, for a 6 or more hour job to use social networks, that would be enough time for them to gather their thoughts, relieve stress, and relax. I know that people come to work to do work, of course, but people are not machines, they need time to relax so that they can work effectively, and the use of social networks, in moderation, could be a good thing.
I agree that in certain workplaces, social media can be beneficial in some cases. Many company's now have Facebook pages and twitter accounts to market their business. I do believe that personal social media accounts should be limited in the workplace. People do need breaks throughout the day and I think that social media during lunch breaks and breaks is acceptable.
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