Work-related Social Media Research Articles

Social media (self-)governance? A mixed-method study on the content and drivers of work-related social media use

While practitioners question whether employees’ work-related social media use is a blessing or curse, few scholars have studied the content of employees’ social media posts. Moreover, organizations increasingly regulate employees’ online presence through social media governance tools, but research on their effectiveness is lacking. With an online survey among 502 Belgian employees, we quantitatively examined how social media governance affects employees’ online branding behavior. Additionally, we asked participants to share a recent work-related social media post with us, and explain why they posted it. Quantitative findings indicate that employees’ branding behavior on social media is mostly driven by their identification and relationship with their organization. Regarding the influence of social media governance, guidelines and rewards affect branding behavior positively, while a ban and punishments can have a destructive impact through reactance. When we qualitatively zoom in on employees’ work-related posts, these are mainly positive, organization-related and used for organizational promotion.

The impact of social and work-related social media usage on job performance

This study aims to analyze the impact of social and work-related social media usage on job performance, both directly and indirectly, mediated by knowledge sharing and job satisfaction. The research employs a quantitative method, with respondents comprising lecturers from private universities in Malang City, Indonesia. The sample size, determined using Slovin's formula, consists of 351 respondents. Data collection was conducted through questionnaires, and the relationships between variables were analyzed using PLS with the SmartPLS application. The hypothesis analysis results indicate that social-related social media usage does not affect knowledge sharing but positively influences job satisfaction and job performance. Work-related social media usage has a significant positive relationship with knowledge sharing, job satisfaction, and job performance. Knowledge sharing cannot mediate the relationship between social-related social media usage and job performance. However, job satisfaction can mediate the relationship between these variables. Knowledge sharing and job satisfaction significantly positively mediate the relationship between work-related social media usage and job performance. The results of this study provide insights for higher education leaders regarding the management of social media in higher education institutions, emphasizing both social and work-related social media usage. Both have different impacts, especially on knowledge sharing. Policies to restrict social-related social media usage during work hours are necessary because informal communication can disrupt concentration during work, communication overload can also occur due to excessive unplanned communication, and echo chambers can result in minority lecturers engaging more in knowledge hiding.

THE EFFECT OF WORK-RELATED SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT ON WORK ENGAGEMENT

This study examined how different factors can influence employees' work engagement. Work-related social media use outside working hours can be a paradox with negative implications for work engagement. Perceived organizational support can be a boost that positively impacts work engagement. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 344 employees across sectors in the greater Jakarta area to test the research hypothesis. The collected data is then processed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) method. The findings in this study indicate that work-related social media use and perceived organizational support are proven to significantly affect work engagement through the mediating role of organizational identification, work-to-family conflict, and family-to-work conflict. The results of this study are expected to be taken into consideration by organizations in formulating policies on setting balanced working hours, maximizing the role of organizational support, and minimizing the potential for work-family conflict so that employees can feel a strong sense of work engagement and maximize their contribution to the organization in the digital era.

How employee resilience contributes to digital performance: moderating role of enterprise social media usage

ABSTRACT In the context of the digital economy, one of the most important issues facing business managers is how to improve digital performance. However, the extant studies exploring this problem are quite limited. Based on information processing theory, this paper proposes a research model to investigate the relationship between employee resilience and digital performance, and the moderating role of enterprise social media usage. According to the analysis of data from 277 employees, this study finds that: (1) employee resilience has a positive effect on employee cognitive flexibility; (2) employee cognitive flexibility can positively influence digital performance, and the effect of employee cognitive flexibility on digital-enabled innovative performance is larger than the effect of employee cognitive flexibility on digital-enabled task performance; (3) both work-related social media usage and social-related social media usage exert a positive moderating effect between employee resilience and employee cognitive flexibility. The findings can help deepen the understanding of the relationship between employee resilience, employee cognitive flexibility, and digital performance, and give business managers suggestions on using enterprise social media to improve digital performance.

The ambassadorship potential of employees: Examining the impact of work-related social media posts on consumer attitudes and behaviors

Employees’ work-related social media posts can serve as persuasive sources of organizational information. Limited research has shown, however, how such posts shape consumers’ evaluations of organizations. Across two experiments, we examine the impact of employees’ social media posts on consumers’ evaluations of the corporate reputation and their behavioral intentions toward the organization. The first experiment studies the role of work-related posts’ valence (positive vs. neutral vs. negative) and context (crisis vs. no crisis). A follow-up experiment exclusively considers positive posts, examining whether the external impact of employee ambassadorship differs depending on employees’ motivation (intrinsic vs. extrinsic) to serve as organizational advocates. Results from the first experiment show that both negative and positive work-related posts substantially influence consumer attitudes and behaviors toward organizations, both under routine and crisis circumstances. The second experiment’s findings show that positive work-related posts are equally effective in intrinsically motivated (i.e., spontaneous) and extrinsically motivated (i.e., paid) circumstances. Organizations can therefore, both in routine and crisis situations, consider ways to stimulate employee ambassadorship on social media.

Empirical Investigation of How Social Media Usage Enhances Employee Creativity: The Role of Knowledge Management Behavior.

Employee use of social media in the workplace has become a common phenomenon. Thus, how to effectively manage and utilize employee social media usage in the workplace has become a new issue. This study examines how employees' work-related and social-related social media usage at work can present different impacts upon their creativity through knowledge management behaviors. To test the research model, this study collected data from 425 employees in various industries in China and utilized a covariance-based structural equation model (CB-SEM) to test the hypotheses. The results suggested that work-related social media usage enhances employee creativity through promoting knowledge sharing and restraining knowledge manipulation. On the contrary, social-related social media usage cannot indirectly influence employee creativity through knowledge management behaviors. This study contributes to the literature on social media research by providing theoretical arguments on how employee use of social media for different purposes affects their creativity. Furthermore, this research offers the insight of the different paths of work-related and social-related social media usage that influence employee creativity rather than treating social media usage as a unitary concept and linking it simply with work results. This study also explores the role of three knowledge management behaviors in the relationship between social media usage and employee creativity.

Paradoxical effects of social media use on workplace interpersonal conflicts

The prevalence of social media use urged researchers to identify its antecedents and consequences. However, research related to social media use in occupational settings has been substantially ignored. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of job stress on social media use (social media addiction and work-related social media activities) and its effect on interpersonal conflict at the workplace. The study was conducted using a cross-sectional design. An online questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 253 office employees working in the oil and gas industry in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was employed for statistical analysis using smart PLS. Results demonstrate a significant positive effect of job stress on social media use (social media addiction and work-related activities on social media) and its significant positive effect on interpersonal conflict in the workplace. Social media behaviour mediates the relationship between job stress and workplace interpersonal conflicts. The study findings show that employees use social media to cope with job stress, which in turn increases interpersonal conflicts at the workplace. Further, the inclination towards social media use indicates the absence of active social support at the workplace. The study findings support the efforts of organisational stakeholders to manage workplace stress by reducing employee’s dependency on online social media and by encouraging “offline active social support” in the offices.

Effects of Social Media Usage on Job Crafting for Female Employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from China

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of social media platforms for working online has become a global phenomenon. For female employees, social media usage has made it easier to balance work and family, but the pressures have also multiplied. Especially in China, the COVID-19 prevention policies led to dramatic changes in working patterns, which significantly affected the emotions, cognitions, and behaviors of female employees. Based on the job demands resource theory, this study explores the double-edged effect of social media usage on job crafting for female employees. Survey data were collected from 563 female employees in Chinese enterprises. Hierarchical regression analysis and the bootstrap method by SPSS and AMOS software were used to test the hypotheses. The results show that work-related social media usage has a negative effect on job crafting, while social-related social media usage has a positive effect. Moreover, job autonomy and workplace friendship mediate the relationship between them. This study extends the research on the double-edge effect of female employees’ social media usage and enriches the antecedents and influencing mechanisms of job crafting. It also provides theoretical and practical guidance for managers on how to promote the sustainability of human capital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Empirical Investigation of Work-Related Social Media Usage and Social-Related Social Media Usage on Employees' Work Performance.

The trend of using social media in the workplace is now becoming ubiquitous. Along witbenefits, social media also has negative consequences. Employees use social media for both work and social purposes. Therefore, using a quantitative approach, this study explores the impact of work-related social media usage and social-related social media usage on employees’ work performance. This study also investigates the mediating effect of extra-role behaviors on social media usage (professional and personal purpose) and work performance relationships. We examined survey data of 241 employees working in different organizations with the help of the partial least square (PLS) 3.0 version. Convenience sampling has been used to reach respondents. The outcomes of this study demonstrate that both professional and personal-related social media usage have a positive and significant impact on employees’ work performance. This study also highlighted that extra-role behavior positively and significantly mediates the relationship between social media usage (work and personal) and employees’ work performance. This study provides practical insights to managers, such as that, instead of banning social media usage in companies, there must be some limits and regulations for using social media that would facilitate firms to increase employees’ engagement and productivity.

The paradox of using public social media for work: The influence of after-hours work communication on employee outcomes

This study examined employees’ after-hours work-related social media communication through the lens of their consumption, contribution, creation, and conversation, and it explored in great depth the paradoxes inherent in how employees use public social media for professional purposes outside of normal working hours. Specifically, this study investigated the effect of work-related social media use (WRSMU) outside regular work hours on various employee outcomes. An online survey was conducted with 815 employees in the U.S. The findings revealed two opposing mechanisms through which after-hours WRSMU affected employees’ work engagement. On the one hand, WRSMU was positively related to organizational identification, which in turn positively affected work engagement. On the other hand, after-hours WRSMU also led to more work-family conflict, which in turn decreased work engagement.

Social Capital Accumulation through Social Media Networks: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment and Individual-Level Panel Data

Work-related social media networks (SMNs) like LinkedIn introduce novel networking opportunities and features that promise to help individuals establish, extend, and maintain social capital (SC). Typically, work-related SMNs offer access to advanced networking features exclusively to premium users in order to encourage basic users to become paying members. Yet little is known about whether access to these advanced networking features has a causal impact on the accumulation of SC. To close this research gap, we conducted a randomized field experiment and recruited 215 freelancers in a freemium, work-related SMN. Of these recruited participants, more than 70 received a randomly assigned voucher for a free 12- month premium membership. We observe that individuals do not necessarily accumulate more SC from their ability to access advanced networking features, as the treated freelancers did not automatically change their online networking engagement. Those features only reveal their full utility if individuals are motivated to proactively engage in networking. We found that freelancers who had access to advanced networking features increased their SC by 4.609% for each unit increase on the strategic networking behavior scale. We confirmed this finding in another study utilizing a second, individual-level panel dataset covering 52,392 freelancers. We also investigated the dynamics that active vs. passive features play in SC accumulation. Based on these findings, we introduce the “theory of purposeful feature utilization”: essentially, individuals must not only possess an efficacious “networking weapon”—they also need the intent to “shoot” it.

The effects of internet and social media use on the work performance of physicians and nurses at workplaces in Palestine

BackgroundThe use of internet and social media applications in the workplace has increased dramatically with both beneficial and harmful effects. Their use also appears to affect job performance in the workplace.AimTo assess the beneficial and harmful effects of internet and social media application use in the workplace, and on the work performance of health professional in the major 4 referral hospitals in the cities of Hebron and Bethlehem.MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted using self-reported questionnaires: a work-related social media questionnaire (WSMQ), and the William Anderson Work Performance Scale. The sample of the study included 409 participants (169 physicians and 240 nurses).ResultsThe Pearson correlation test showed a weak positive statistically significant relationship between the WSMQ and William Anderson Work Performance Scale. The findings revealed that the overall mean score for the WSMQ was high (mean score 3.57), and the higher mean was for the beneficial WSMQ compared with the harmful WSMQ. The mean for the William Anderson Work Performance Scale was moderate performance (3.35). The higher mean was for Organizational Citizenship Behavior-Individual (OCBI), followed by In Role Behavior (IRB).ConclusionPalestinian healthcare professionals should be encouraged to use internet and social media applications to improve health outcomes, and provide health information to the community rather than simply using these tools for communication. Administrative staff and policy makers in Palestinian hospitals should regulate the use of internet and social media applications in hospitals by developing a clear policy on this topic for the workplace.

Hybrid Social Media Use and Guanxi Types: How Do Employees Use Social Media in the Chinese Workplace?

We investigate how work-related and personal-related social media (SM) use contributes to Chinese employees’ guanxi identification and extra-role behaviors (ERB). Our findings indicate that work-related SM use is positively associated with team member guanxi identification, which further contributes to employees’ ERB targeting the team. Personal-related SM use is positively related to insider guanxi identification and further contributes to ERB targeting the individual. When team communication is highly dependent on SM, the positive effect of personal-related SM use on guanxi identification is weakened. The results contribute to a nuanced understanding of the crucial role of SM use in the Chinese workplace.

What's in it for me and you? Exploring managerial perceptions of employees' work-related social media use

PurposeThis study focuses on managers' perceptions of employees' communicative role in social media, and explores the changes in the contractual nature of employment relations in mediatized workplaces in which the boundaries of professional and private life are becoming more fluid.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach was employed to explore this relatively new phenomenon. The data, comprising 24 interviews with managers responsible for corporate communication and human resources in knowledge-intensive organizations, was thematically analysed.FindingsThe analysis shows that employees' work-related social media use creates new types of exchanges and dependencies between an organization and individual employees, which relate to employees' representation, knowledge and networks.Originality/valueThe study is among the first to examine the exchanges and dependencies in an employment relationship that emerge from increased use of social media for professional purposes.

Work-related social media use and employee-related outcomes: a moderated mediation model

PurposeRecently, work-related social media use (WSMU) in organisations and its association with employee outcomes have received considerable research attention. This study examines the association between WSMU, psychological well-being (PW) and innovative work performance (IP). In addition, it explores the mediating role of PW and the moderating role of fear of missing out (FoMO).Design/methodology/approachA sample of 233 employees working in different organisations was recruited from India to complete the survey. Structural equation modelling was applied to analyse the data.FindingsThe result reveals that WSMU has a positive and direct effect on IP. Moreover, the indirect effect via PW among the association was positive and significant. Furthermore, FoMO moderates the indirect relationship between WSMU and IP.Originality/valueThis research is a pioneering work that has contributed to the scarce literature by exploring the relationship between employees' social media use, PW and IP. This research has important theoretical and management contributions because it examines the impact of WSMU on IP, mediating role of PW and moderating role of FoMO among the association between WSMU and employee outcomes.

Exploring Employees’ After-Hour Work Communication on Public Social Media: Antecedents and Outcomes

This study focused on employees’ work-related social media use outside regular work hours and explored its antecedents and outcomes. Drawing from boundary theory and employee-organization relationship management literature, this study investigated how employees’ preference for work–family segmentation and quality employee-organization relationship affected employees’ work-related social media use. In addition, informed by the effort-recovery model, the current study proposed low psychological detachment from work and high work–family conflict as outcomes of work-related social media use. Through an online survey with 815 employees in the United States, findings of the study supported the proposed antecedents and outcomes. Specifically, employees with a stronger preference for segmenting the work from the home domain engaged less in work-related social media use, and in turn, experienced higher levels of psychological detachment from work and less work–family conflict. On the other hand, those who had high-quality relationships with their organizations reported higher engagement levels in work-related social media, which resulted in lower psychological detachment from work and higher work–family conflict.

Falling in Love With Work: The Effect of Enterprise Social Media on Thriving at Work.

Using a survey of 300 employees in different types of enterprises and different positions, this study verified that the use of enterprise social media has a positive effect on employees’ work exuberance. The study separately examined the effects of social media applications for work tasks and social tasks. Both types of applications had a positive impact on employees’ work exuberance. The study also identified the mediating role of challenge and obstructive stressors in this relationship. Work-related social media applications enhanced employees’ exuberance by reducing obstructive stressors, and social-related social media applications enhanced employees’ exuberance by reducing challenge stressors. The implications of these findings are that managers should pay attention to the use of enterprise social media, especially for social tasks, as this can enhance employees’ sense of exuberance.

The Effect of Using Social Media on Job Satisfaction: Is There A Role for Job Engagement and Organization Engagement As a Mediator?

This study aims to determine how the influence of the use of social media (Work-related social media use) and social media (Social-related social media use) on job satisfaction. In addition, to find out how the role of work engagement and organizational engagement, as a mediating variable in the relationship.The research was conducted in Indonesia with the analysis unit of the State Civil Servant (SCS) domiciled in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar. A sample of 212 respondents obtained by using a questionnaire distribution technique using google form, data analysis using SEM-AMOS.The results of the analysis show that the use of social media (Work-related social media use) has no effect on job satisfaction, but the use of social media (Social-related social media use) is found to increase the job satisfaction of SCS.The results of the analysis also show that the use of social media (Work-related social media use) can increase work engagement, but has no effect on increasing organizational engagement. The use of social media (Social-related social media use) contributes to an increase in work engagement and organizational engagement. Furthermore, it was found that there was a significant effect of work engagement and organizational engagement on SCS job satisfaction. Work engagement and organizational engagement play a role as a mediating variable (partially) in the relationship between social media use (Social-related social media use) and job satisfaction. But there is no role as a mediating variable in the relationship between (Work-related social media use) and job satisfaction.

Work-related social media use: The mediating role of social media communication self-efficacy

Social media use has become an indispensable part of knowledge work. Employees posting work-related content on social media are considered credible sources of information and have significant importance for how stakeholders, such as potential customers and future employees, perceive the organization. Therefore, employees’ ability to communicate about their work on social media has become a competitive advantage both for individual employees and for their organizations, especially in the professional service sector. Hence, understanding the role of employees’ ability to use these social media professionally is crucial for understanding the communicative behaviors of contemporary knowledge workers. In this study, we draw on social cognitive theory and focus on the antecedents and consequences of self-efficacy in individuals’ work-related communication on social media. The results show that perceived organizational commitment, clarity of communicative role, social media training, and prior experience with social media serve as antecedents of communication self-efficacy and subsequent work-related communication on social media. Thus, organizations and particularly management, have several aspects directly within the scope of their control that may aid employees in engaging in the professional use of social media. The paper contributes to the literature on employees’ communication behavior and provides important and actionable insights for management and the development of human resources.

Enterprise Social Media (ESM) Use and Employee Belongingness in US Corporations

This study explored social capital theory by investigating the relationship between enterprise social media use (ESM) as measured by an adapted instrument and employee belongingness as measured by the balanced measure of psychological needs (BMPN) scale of employees in USA, moderated by generational age groups. A survey of 155 employees from US corporations was conducted. The results support the theoretical model of social capital as well as three hypothesized relationships. While there was no significant relation between Social-related ESM use and employee belongingness, there was a statistically significant relationship between Work-related ESM use, age generation groups, and employee belongingness. Overall, Generation-X employees showed a higher belongingness score compared to Millennials, and even higher compared to Generation-Z employees. The results indicate that using an internal social media technology for work-related purposes can help employees feel that they belong and are a part of the social makeup of the organization. Work related social media use can also foster greater organizational social capital such as team building resulting in the achievement of organizational objectives and goals. These findings offer implications for research on social capital’s value as an asset for the organization as well as enterprise social media’s ongoing and ever-increasing value.