Social media is pervasive. People just love to take a peek at their social media pages while going to the office, having breakfast or waiting for a meeting. This is what has lent credence to the notion about the impact of social media at workplace. Indeed, the negative effects of social media at work are many.
Addictive
There is not a shred of doubt that social media is addictive, and this is the root of all the impact of social media at workplace. People like to go through Facebook posts whenever they get some time. In fact, people often put off important work in order to like and share Facebook posts. This indicates the addiction level and turns out to be one of most critical problems of social media.
Brings Down Productivity
Such addiction has a telling effect on productivity. It can bring down productivity of the organization and efficiency of individual personnel. Not only does it distract the mind, it also leads to waste of precious time which could have been otherwise used productively. It certainly is a drag on your concentration, which brings down productivity.
Enhances the Risk of Losing Privacy
Social media looks charming, intriguing, entertaining and informative. Yet there is no doubt that it is a hooded serpent. If you are not going by the rule book, it may strike you at any moment. Unsolicited messages, morphed photographs, threats, disturbing phone calls et al. are uncalled for results of social media misadventures and carelessness. So, the risk of losing privacy is real in every organization. Stalker can well be a colleague, a team leader, a manager or even an outsider. In case an employee is suffering from such breach of privacy in social media, she cannot be expected to stay attentive and productive.
Breeds Jealousy
The very obnoxious impact of social media at the workplace is the breeding of jealousy among colleagues. People have it in them to boast of materialistic possessions. This has got a boost in the social media. People are bragging about everything under the sun. It may be a new piece of jewelry, a new house, a vehicle or leisure travel. Nevertheless, everybody is not so well endowed to enjoy all these materialistic pleasures of life. This tends to breed jealousy. This is especially true for women, but men too are not immune to such feelings. Since women make a large number of corporate organizations these days, such social posts can stroke a feeling of jealousy and lead to formation of silos in the organization. This is not only unwelcome, but counterproductive for the future of the organization.
Transforms Some Employees into Attention Seekers
Social media breeds a group of employees who become attention seekers. This is mostly true for those who are usually recluse and don’t get much traction in real life. These people feel empowered by social media. They indulge in posts that make people, especially colleagues, follow them. As people and colleagues start following them or putting Likes in their posts, they start basking in a false sense of popularity. They try to repeat such posts and attract attention. They lose attention and productivity. This is one of the most prominent negative effects of social media at work.
These problems may also lead to termination. An employer may legally terminate the employee for an inappropriate social media post. This is why is important to use social media at workplace with some rules and regulations. So that in future employer can think to retain you.
