Positive Impacts of Social Media at Work: Job Satisfaction, Job Calling, and Facebook Use among Co-Workers

Brittany Hanna,Kerk F Kee,Brett W Robertson,B Mohamad,H Abu Bakar

doi:10.1051/shsconf/20173300012

Brittany Hanna, Kerk F Kee + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20173300012

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Abstract

The number of Facebook users grew rapidly since its conception. Within today’s workplace, employees are increasingly connecting with each other on Facebook for interpersonal reasons. Due to sensational reports by media outlets of inappropriate social media use, many organizations are taking extreme measures about how their employees who utilize Facebook to connect with colleagues. Contrary to the negative assumptions, McAfee [1] states that social media within the workplace can promote positive dynamics. The present study uses McAfee’s argument to examine if a positive connection exists between colleagues who use Facebook to connect with each other. An online survey with questions involving Facebook use with co-workers, job satisfaction, and perceived job calling was completed by employees (N =70) at two high-tech companies in Northern California, USA. Results revealed that job satisfaction is positively correlated with intensity of Facebook use among co-workers. Furthermore, feeling called to one’s line of work was statistically significantly higher for the group of employees who spent the most amount of time interacting on Facebook with their co-workers than the group that spent the least amount of time. These results suggest that companies could begin to explore the positive benefits of social media use within the workplace.

Highlights

It is no surprise why many people hold negative assumptions about social media use within the workplace; most related cases in the media are sensational stories about employees being fired from the jobs due to careless Facebook posts
The questionnaire asked participants to indicate the social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) they use to connect with their co-workers, followed by a specific set of questions related to their Facebook use, job satisfaction, and job calling
A Pearson correlation was performed to assess the relationship between job satisfaction and intensity of Facebook use to test Hypothesis 1

Summary

Introduction

It is no surprise why many people hold negative assumptions about social media use within the workplace; most related cases in the media are sensational stories about employees being fired from the jobs due to careless Facebook posts. When done offline and with trusted listeners, most people are able to rant without worrying about getting fired for expressing such human emotions and desire for social support [3]. Because private social media postings are searchable and accessible, many people experience high levels of stress [4]. This leads to a wide assumption that it is not wise to carelessly connect with co-workers on Facebook and allow professional colleagues into one’s private online space

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