Social networking is a positive way to stay connected to family, friends and corporate organisations, but when it gets in the way of daily living, then it can hurt your career.
Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace can be great for making friends, but they also pose a hazard in the workplace.
Spending more than an hour on a social networking site, other than for work purposes, and realising you don’t know how much time has passed is a problem. If you forget to pick up your kids from school or miss appointments because of social media, it is negatively affecting your life. Using a timer helps to keep you from spending too much time online.
Many companies block social media networking sites, but those that don’t often find their employees lose productivity to such sites.
Using Facebook at work could lead to job loss if you miss deadlines and meetings. Posting inappropriate things online about your job may also get you fired. For someone who telecommutes, spending too much time on social networking sites means incomplete projects and less money made at work. If you aren’t able to go a day without visiting your social networking sites, this may indicate an addiction.
More obstacles
While Nigerians await the outcome of efforts to improve the employment situation in the country, employers are not ready to lower their stands when it comes to hiring or firing employees. If anything, they are making it stricter. What people post on the social media is even taken into account by some organisations these days.
“If getting a job was not hard enough in this tough economic climate, one in 10 young people has been rejected for a job because of their social media profile,” a new study by On Device Research says.
This was contained in the research firm’s Young People’s Consumer Confidence Index, which is designed to help businesses to understand what young people, aged 16-34 think about their current and future economic and employment prospects, in both developed and growth markets.
Surprising results
In a report titled, ‘Facebook costing 13-34s jobs in tough economic climate’, which was published recently, On Device Research explains that the index covers 6,000 16-34 year olds across six countries, including Nigeria.
Concerning the methodology used, it explains, “6,000 demographically balanced mobile users aged 16-34 years old across China, India, Nigeria, Brazil, the United States and the United Kingdom completed a survey via the mobile Internet. Additional questions were asked from a larger sample size of 17,657 (aged 16-34) about social media.”
According to the study of those who said they have been rejected for a job because of comments or pictures on their online/social media profile, 13 per cent were Nigerians. China had the highest number with 30 per cent while Brazil had the lowest with nine per cent.
In all six countries surveyed, there were people who had been rejected for a job because of their posts on the social media.
Better education needed
Despite this, On Research found that the majority (two-thirds) were not concerned that their use of social media now may harm their future career prospects and are not deterred from using it.
“They are also more likely to have altered their social media profile to look good to their friends, as opposed to prospective employers,” it says.
To avoid hurting their careers and their finances, the research firm called for more awareness.
It says, “Better education of the impact of social media is needed to ensure young people are not making it even harder for themselves to get on the career ladder.”
Addicted to the social media?
Another survey on the social media by Intelligent Office, a recruitment agency, shows that one-third of workers use social media at work for at least an hour a day.
The study also says a quarter of the respondents said they would not work for a company that did not allow them to use social media.
Though the study did not cover Nigeria, it indicates that there is a growing attachment to the use of the social media leading to debates about how it affects productivity.
Some of the studies into the use of the social media at work show that there are benefits of giving employees unlimited access to the social media in the workplace as it can increase collaboration among the workers and position it to attract young talents. Other call for caution, noting that if misused it can affect productivity.
Avoiding misuse of the social media
Many employees often argue that what they post or do on the social media is private, but experts say it is not always so.
The Search Marketing Executive, Marketing by Web, Chris Mayhew, while noting that many big companies suffered from scandals in 2012 because of posts by employees, calls on both employers and employees to be cautious in using the social media
In an article published on socialmediatoday.com, he says, “With the outreach that social media allows you, anything that is posted is instantly seen by millions and once it has entered the virtual world, it can’t be undone.
“Therefore, businesses have to face up to the tough task of monitoring their employees’ use of these sites on and off the work premises. This may seem like a difficult thing to do, but regulations such as ‘no phones at work’ and a zero tolerance approach are sure to help.”
He explains that while monitoring what an employee posts on social media sites may seem like an invasion of their privacy, it may be necessary to stop people who chose to abuse it.
For employees using social media sites at work, experts advise them to ensure that it does not affect their productivity. While they say companies can get into trouble for over reacting to posts by their workers, they stress that employees should avoid constantly maligning their employers in their posts as that will provide a more compelling case for them to be fired.
Employees are also advised to be careful when posting information about the company as leaking company secrets is unacceptable and can get them into serious trouble.
Mayhew warns that it is not enough to add in your profile that “Views are my own”, noting that it means nothing.
Stressing that such a statement is written on many people’s profiles on various social media sites, he says, “Just because you have stated that the things you post are your personal opinions, it doesn’t stop people associating them with the company you represent.”
With more companies showing interest in what their employees (and potential employees) do on the social media and with studies showing that people have lost their jobs for misusing social networking sites at work, it is important for people to also take into consideration the effect their posts will have on the company’s corporate image.
WRITTEN BY ADEMOLA ALAWIYE
