Like it or not, the presence of social media in the workplace is here to stay. Applications like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are too big to ignore, and are often used in the workplace to enhance collaboration, relationship building, and marketing.
Managers today can no longer mandate the banning of social media at work; to do so would be counterintuitive and damaging to business. Instead, all that managers and HR can do is manage its impact.
This article takes you through the twelve main disadvantages of social media in the workplace, and how to address them.
1. It reduces employee productivity
It might sound draconian, but time spent on social media is time taken away from work-related tasks. Social media websites are rarely used for a few brief moments. Internet rabbit holes can last for hours and lead to massive losses of productivity.
For organizations that carefully measure efficiencies or need to manage fine operating margins, these losses in time can add up. Managers must carefully measure productivity and ensure employees remain focused on the tasks at hand; this might involve blocking certain social media channels, utilizing employee monitoring software, or ensuring computer screens can be seen by colleges or supervisors in order to discourage inappropriate usage. Of course, this can create secondary issues such as trust violations and privacy concerns.
2. It can hinder employee relations
Offices are natural rumor mills and present plenty of opportunities for risk of conflict or problems without the added impact of social media in these areas. Social media can create cliques of employees and generate gossip. These channels can even start office arguments and other incidents.
The challenge with social media is that it anonymizes these situations. This can create uncertainty and doubt, ultimately leading to mistrust and pods of dislike in organizations. This can be toxic for cohesion and create major operating issues further down the line.
Managers can mitigate this risk by focusing on the systems that facilitate communication with colleagues. Creating and sustaining comprehensive offline communication huddles that will consistently bring employees together away from their screens is one good approach, and effective workplace policies on communication and social media can also mitigate this risk.
3. It risks the introduction of viruses and malware
Many social media websites have relatively poor levels of virus and malware protection compared to other websites. This can make it very easy for employees to unwittingly download harmful files to their organization’s servers, as well as falling victim to phishing and other online scams that can result in viruses being transmitted.
The social media risks here are not just limited to the practical destruction or damage to workplace equipment. The economic costs of repairing this damage can be high, and there can be knock-on impacts to customer experience. There can also be reputational impacts if customers begin to avoid the organization because of a perceived careless approach to online security, which can impact user data and privacy. This can, therefore, be an exceptionally critical downside to using social media at work.
4. It can affect employee wellbeing
There are increasing numbers of studies linking social media to depression and anxiety. The main reasons for this are because of the isolating nature of online interactions, as well as the competitive forces associated with social media, such as the flaunting of wealth or virtual one-upmanship.
When social media is accessed at work, these risks essentially become a workplace hazard or stressor, and can impact the wellbeing of your employees. Consequently, controls and training must be implemented to make employees aware of the benefits in taking a break from social media.
5. It can impact organizational reputation
Organizations can be at risk from disgruntled employees posting negative updates about their role or company on social media. This can happen very easily, and even if the offending post is swiftly removed, the damage might already have been done.
Similarly, employees charged with updating official social media feeds must be trained on doing so, ensuring communications are professional and adhere to organizational standards and branding. Well-intended but inaccurate or offensive posts can cause just as many reputation issues as intentionally inappropriate updates — remember: even if the post is deleted, print screens and search histories mean that nothing online is ever permanently removed!
6. It decreases employee engagement
The risk of social media in the workplace driving gossip, rivalries, competition and mental illness can result in significant losses in employee engagement, a critical measurement of organizational health.
Employees might feel insecure or less happy at work because of an overreliance or overuse of social media. Managers should take care to measure employee engagement regularly (at the very least, annually), listen to the resulting employee feedback regarding scores, and act upon it when possible.
7. It removes privacy
Social media can be the great equalizer and can create open and inclusive environments when used in the right way. The flipside to this is that it is very easy — too easy — to share too much. Employees can accidentally (or deliberately) share sensitive information relating to the company or its employees publicly on social media.
These actions can create financial risk and even result in criminal charges against the person or the organization, depending on what is shared. Sensitive financial information being shared on social media can lead to illegal insider trading. The sharing of employees’ or customers’ private details can lead to disciplinary action or, at the very worst, legal action, fines or criminal penalties.
8. It leads to increased harassment and bullying at work
Thanks in part to the anonymity it provides, social media is a preferred way for bullies to go about harassing others. When applied to the workplace, employees can go online and harass colleagues or bully them, without fear of getting caught. Some employees might go online to innocently “follow” their colleagues, which can also be a form of harassment, if the employee asks the follower to stop and the behavior carries on.
Every employer must have a concrete anti-harassment policy that references social media etiquette and usage. All employees must be made aware of the consequences of online harassment, and managers should be trained on what to look out for in terms of behaviors, such as employees acting differently or becoming more withdrawn if the situation is worsening.
9. It increases workplace gossip
Workplace gossip isn't just harmful through increasing the risk of situations developing that can result in harassment or isolation. It can also be a waste of important collaboration time. Every manager and organization should be working to increase employee interactions and socialization in meaningful ways.
These moments of collaboration are often the most powerful ways to drive creativity and innovation in the workplace. Social media can divert socialization interventions away from positive interaction and towards wasteful and potentially harmful discussions. Setting social media norms and guidance is a good way to control this and keep workplace communication firmly on track.
10. It can lead to inappropriate workplace relationships
Social media can increase the chances of fraternization at work. Workplace relationships will always happen — they are as inevitable as the use of social media itself. Nevertheless, social media can increase the prevalence of workplace relationships through driving increased social connections.
Managers must always be careful to manage such relationships, ensuring they are not between reporting lines or developing in high-risk areas (such as finance or HR) which can create conflicts of interest. This can in turn create financial risk or decrease workplace morale.
11. It can result in loss of talent
Social media is becoming a very useful recruitment tool, connecting employees with jobs and new employers quicker than ever before. The risk here is that it is very easy to lose great people.
LinkedIn, for example, facilitates job applications at the click of a button and allows recruiters to directly message applicants, which means there is limited opportunity for employers to work on retention and understand why good people might be looking to move on. Employees might also be affected by the impact of social media as discussed above and decide to leave the business for personal reasons.
Whereas social media should never be manipulated to deny opportunity for your best people to grow, leaders should work out ways to manage this risk and engage their best talent to proactively address their potential temptation to go online and look for something better. Put simply, employers must train their managers on preventing unnecessary or avoidable human capital flight.
12. It can impact the company legally and financially
Ultimately, the misuse or overuse of social media at work presents real legal and financial risk. This can be through damage to company property, loss of intellectual rights or human capital, loss of information and competitive advantage, all the way through to more direct financial impacts such as government fines, increased expenditure, or loss of revenue.
Employers must communicate these risks to all employees — especially supervisors and managers — in order to control the use of social media at work.
Final thoughts
Social media can offer so much to individuals and organizations. These days, social media applications and websites are some of the principal sources of competitive advantage. That said, their presence and power is a double-edged sword, and social media can bring plenty of cons into the world of work. Employers must set in place effective social media policies and other norms to control and monitor the use of this medium, as much as possible.
Employees should be coached on when too much social media is too much, and the detrimental impact of this media on their wellbeing at work. Taking the time to set these norms in place will ensure a healthy workplace culture where social media can contribute to organizational success — not detract from it.
Got a question or want to share your own experiences as an HR manager or business owner regarding social media in the workplace? Let us know in the comments section below!
Originally published in July 2013.