Social media usage harming workplace productivity survey finds
A survey has found that social media usage is harming the levels of productivity within the workplace.
The survey carried out by news navigator www.onenewspage.com and participated in by over 1000 people across the US and UK has found that almost four in ten (39%) use social network sites such as Twitter and Facebook during work hours while 26% admitted to spending more than an hour a day using social networking sites on matters that were not work related.
Despite this, 45% of respondents said that their bosses should be monitoring other people’s online habits more closely.
Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University, commented:” I suspect there’s more than one reason why staff are using social networking sites at work. Of course, there will always be people who take advantage, but bear in mind that employees in the States and the UK work very long hours, so they have to spend some time while at work to organise their lives.
“Also, with both economies still coming out of recession, I suspect some staff might be a little underutilised. They put in long hours to show commitment and because they feel they might lose their job if they don’t. Also, for the very busy, using these sites is a good stress reliever; it can take the pressure off for a few moments before they start work again.”