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ENC-1101

26 November 2018

Social Media should not be banned at Workplaces

Social media has become a widely known topic in the world, and many people have become dependent on it for their day-to-day lives. With its diverse nature, social media made its way to workplaces impacting general operations in organizations. According to Madianou, social media involves the use of online platforms ranging from Facebook to Whatsapp messages and Instagram posts (3). In the current world, many people focus on their image on social media and thus, it impacts their general behavior while at workplaces. Even though social media is associated with controversies such as facilitating information leak and decreasing productivity, social media contributes to giving employees a mental break, supports professional connections and also builds personal relationships among coworkers form among reasons why social media should not be banned.

In the establishment of relationships, social media plays a critical role in enhancing because it allows workmates to interact and build a connection through the use of social media. In workplaces, stronger relationships contribute to increased collaborations and thus, employees in an organization work in teams to achieve personal as well as corporate goals. Suitable communications in organizations are enhanced by social media which allows employees to share ideas concerning various perspectives on different topics. Sharing of ideas improves engagement between people both at work and at home. Increased communication in an organization contribute to the increased morale, and thus, employees increase their output. Therefore, growing collaborations in an organization provide to the promotion of social media in organizations.

Social media gives employees a mental break while at work. According to Koçak, taking mental breaks at work through the use of social media encourages employees to relax from work pressures (13). Social media breaks in the workplace lead to an increase in employee productivity. In the current world, the millennial generation grew up with the internet and "coffee breaks" do not satisfy them. Incorporation of social media in workplaces benefits people because they enable employees to refocus, decompress and resume working with full of energy. While surfing non-related work, employees replenish their attention, and when they continue working, their productivity is increased. The primary goal in many organizations include increases productivity, and thus, with the use of social media, employees increase productivity which translates to job outcomes. Social media, therefore, should not be banned from workplaces.

As mentioned earlier, social media platforms ranging, from Facebook to other Internet sites such as Instagram. Social media sites such as LinkedIn has contributed to the establishment of professional relationships among diverse employees in the world. LinkedIn connects people from different professions and thus, employees share knowledge and ideas about specific disciplines. Sharing ideas concerning various subjects contributes to adding knowledge on how to run operations in workplaces. By sharing ideas, employees can gain insight into different perspectives in an organization. Gaining knowledge about various activities in an organization contributes to increasing skills. In any workplace, increase in skills translates to effectiveness. Therefore, social media needs to be incorporated in organizations because it allows employees to share professional knowledge and thus gain skills in handling different tasks. According to Alobaidi, skills contributes to effectiveness which translates to an increase in productivity (12).

Employers should not ban social media use in the workplace because it enhances branding. Social media websites improve employer branding and product branding. In any workplace, social media allows employees to create a positive buzz about their companies. According to Koçak, when employees utilize social media in their day-to-day operations, friendly topics about the company as well as essential articles and posts facilitate boosting employer brand (8). By posting significant content about a company allows an organization to convey a positive culture about an organization and thus, other people seeking jobs will be attracted and try to fit in such organizations. In enabling a company's brand, when employees keep posting about specific companies and products, people cannot forget about such companies because of their social media presence.

To a substantial extent, social media is associated with increasing information leaks. According to Kurt and Tıngöy, social media involves sharing common practices for individuals and businesses (8). As such, when a company grows and maintains its social media platforms, security becomes gradually challenging to control. Previously, information on social media was controlled through the use of firewalls. With the increase in technological advancements, specifically the cloud-based technology, security issues arose. Cloud-based technology systems include several technological advancements that require sophisticated systems to fill such voids. While sharing information on social media, data spread so fast, and if it passes through unprotected social media channels, such information could be hacked by malicious people.

Furthermore, harmless posts on social media could result in serious damage to a business, and as such, the use of a company's information results in serious implications such as damage to a brand. Data leakage occurs when anonymous people copy data from a company's website and manipulate such information. The spread of the reproduced information results to damage to a company's reputation. According to Madianou, many people spend too much money on compliance and protecting data loss in business (7). Information leakages result to loss of a company's capital, and therefore, social media should be done away with at workplaces.

Additionally, social media should be banned at workplaces because it impacts productivity. A study by Madianou, indicates that 32% of employees spend much of their time on social media while at work (5). Overindulgence in social media causes distractions among employees who fail to meet their objectives. Apart from causing low productivity, social media contributes to defamation, loss of confidential information and employee solicitation. Postigo acknowledges that Facebook is among the most visited social media sites in the world (5). In many workplaces, the creation of social media usage restrictions has not borne fruits because some employees have become resultant of such policies and some employees take advantage of such systems.

Furthermore, social media decreases productivity if overused because many people waste time on social media which translates to huge losses on resources and productivity. People also develop more interest in non-important aspects which slows down employee's productivity.

Other than the reduction in productivity and loss of information, social media should be banned at workplaces because it leads to addiction. Social media addictions lead to lack of concentration at work as well as a decrease in social interactions. Recently, many people use social media and thus, sociologists claim that it has replaced physical interactions because people communicate through messages in many instances. Therefore, social media should be banned from workplaces because a reduction in productivity and loss of data leads to losses experienced by companies.

In conclusion, social media needs to be re-examined, and employers should set regulations concerning the usage of social media. If used well, social media benefits business in that; it allows them to companies achieve its goals by empowering employees through the various social interactions created. Social media platforms in organizations facilitate in adding to already developed knowledge in diverse disciplines. To a more substantial extent, social media is purposeful in workplaces if it is moderated, but when there are no regulations, people in an organization end up spending too much time on their social media profiles than working. Regulations concerning the usage of social media in organizations result in realizing benefits associated with social media. In the long run, social media is set to experience massive transformations, and if used well, many organizations will benefit. `

Works Cited

Alobaidi, Entisar. "Outline To the Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media". ACADEMICIA: An International Multidisciplinary Research Journal, vol 8, no. 4, 2018, p. 4. Diva Enterprises Private Limited, doi:10.5958/2249-7137.2018.00021.6.

Koçak, N.Gizem. "Social and Individual Impacts Of Social Media and Its Interactions with Traditional Media". International Journal of Communication and Media Science, vol 4, no. 2, 2017, pp. 1-7. Seventh Sense Research Group Journals, doi:10.14445/2349641x/ijcms-v4i2p101.

Kurt, Mustafa Cankut, and Özhan Tıngöy. "Understanding of Social Participation on Digital Media: An Investigation of Social Action Platforms". AJIT-E Online Academic Journal of Information Technology, 2016, pp. 95-112. AJIT - E Academic Journal of Information Technology, doi:10.5824/1309-1581.2016.3.006.x.

Madianou, Mirca. "Polymedia and Ethnography: Understanding the Social in Social Media". Social Media + Society, vol 1, no. 1, 2015, p. 205630511557867. SAGE Publications, doi: 10.1177/2056305115578675.

Postigo, Hector. "Social Media: The Unbearable Lightness of Meaning". Social Media + Society, vol 1, no. 1, 2015, p. 205630511558034. SAGE Publications, doi: 10.1177/2056305115580342.