Sorry Boss, It’s Time For My Instagram Break
As someone who often finds herself reaching for her iPhone mid-lecture to check Instagram, I sometimes wonder how my social media habits will survive a 9–5 office job.
And then I did my first internship and realised us university students have been conned! Because it turns out it doesn’t matter if it’s social media, office gossip or a cheeky coffee run, office workers spend a lot of the 8 hour day not actually doing their job.
So, I thought to myself, does it really matter if I check Facebook every now and then to tag my friends in some posts? Eight hours is a long time to concentrate on one task. If social media provides me with a quick break to unwind before diving back into work, is it really a problem?
Surprisingly, many research studies agree with me.
Social media has a multitude of impacts on employee efficiency. Significant research has gone into determining the scale between the productive and unproductive behaviour social media facilitates. Unfortunately, this has been no easy task with many studies finding opposing results.
The Pessimists
The most obvious and strongest argument against social media in the workplace is its distracting nature. Consequently, many workplaces block the sites on company computers and monitor their employee’s internet activity. So just because your boss isn’t looking over your shoulder doesn’t mean they won’t find out you spent 3 hours stalking people on LinkedIn.
And while this should logically reduce social media on work computers, a strong foe exists. The smartphone.
With the proliferation of smartphones and smartwatches, staff can skirt company barriers and procrastinate to their heart’s content. And unlike when you’re using the company computer, your manager can’t track how much time you spend on your phone.
And for many workers, it’s a lot of time.
A study of Canadian office workers found they spend an average of 43 minutes per day on their mobile devices at work. Millennials were worse with 58 minutes per workday.
And some argue that this time is losing companies’ money. British companies alone are estimated to lose $3.2 billion per year due to social networking on the job.
If there are blaring alarm bells ringing in your head you’re probably a manager or just a huge fan of productivity. But don’t get too worked up, upper management, there’s nothing you can do to stop it anyway.
Sure, you could confiscate phones or install cameras in every office, but it’s unlikely the serious impact this may have on employee morale and retention would outweigh any damage done by them checking Instagram a few hours a week.
The Optimists
Of course, while there are some understandable drawbacks to social media use in the workplace, there are several benefits that are overlooked or undervalued by managers.
Social media can facilitate an online networking space where coworkers and strangers alike can collaborate, share information and inspire creativity. Social media doesn’t just tell us about our distant friend’s new baby, it also provides us with an insight into current events, public opinion and new perspectives.
The pervasiveness of social media usage by modern businesses should also not be disregarded. An increasing number of companies rely on staff to be adept in utilising social media to promote their brand. It would be difficult to naturally engage with a customer base via social media without the proficiency in using a platform that comes with frequent use.
Lastly, and in my opinion, most importantly, social media provides employees with a break. One study found short and unobtrusive breaks browsing the Internet allowed employees to be more productive. Breaks allow people to rest their mind for a moment to recoup their concentration before returning to work.
The central issue in all of this is that employees must actually return to work. 70% of businesses polled in a 2013–2014 study stated they had at least one experience where they needed to deal with misuse of social media by an employee. Adding to the concern is social media’s potentially addictive nature, with 23% of users checking their Facebook 5 or more times a day.
So for some compulsive social media users there may not be a clear solution. But for the bored, underutilised or simply unengaged employees bosses should consider whether they are investing in the correct person for the job. If they aren’t, it’s likely their employee isn’t investing their time in the company either.
The Realists
Regardless of the ongoing debate, social media is used in the workplace and nothing outside of extreme surveillance by bosses is going to eradicate it. What managers should focus on is creating intelligent and adaptable social media policies so both bosses and employees understand what is acceptable. Because social media is here to stay and treating it like it’s pure evil is equally as unproductive as Karen (who’s been doing Buzzfeed quizzes since 10 am).
So if your boss is currently eyeballing you for reading an opinion piece on Medium instead of doing your work, feel free to let them know you are finding inspiration, taking a break to refresh your brain and will ultimately be a more productive employee because of it!
Just don’t blame me if you get a written warning, okay?
