Communication Via Social Media: How Employees Will Paradoxically Support the Organization while Putting Less Effort at Work

Abstract

Research on the effects of social media use by employees on work behaviors is inconclusive and showed mixed findings. To bring clarity to the extant literature, instead of focusing on generic social media use, we focus on a specific social media behavior—communication via social media with coworkers and friends—and theorize that it simultaneously triggers positive and negative effects on work behaviors through the mediation of opposite emotions. More specifically, our empirical study shows that employee communication via social media leads simultaneously to positive behaviors, predicting organizational citizenship behaviors, and negative behaviors, predicting counterproductive work behaviors. Happiness mediates the relationship between communication with social media and organizational citizenship behavior. Fatigue mediates the relationship between communication with social media and counterproductive work behaviors. The negative effects are stronger for communication with friends while the positive effects are more pronounced for communication with colleagues. Results are particularly revealing. Paradoxically, communication via social media makes employees happy and tired at the same time, making them likely to support the organization and coworkers while simultaneously working in counterproductive manner.

Social media and well-being at work, at home, and in-between: a review

“…We note that some studies find diverging associations between using ESM for workconsistent vs. inconsistent or social purposes and well-being (Labban & Bizzi, 2021;Liang et al, 2020;Randall et al, 2020). For example, work-inconsistent ESM use is associated with higher job satisfaction, but work-consistent ESM use is not (Liang et al, 2020).…”

“…They found the effect of social media use on well-being was negative through fatigue, whereas it was positive through psychological detachment. A crosssectional study by Labban and Bizzi (2021) further found that communicating with non-work friends while working was associated with more happiness but also more fatigue. These results suggest that increased well-being may result from positive interpersonal experiences and connections to the home domain via social media.…”

Social media and well-being at work, at home, and in-between: A review

“…Concerning mechanisms, Wu et al (2020) assessed potential mediators between cyberslacking and well-being and found the effect of social media use through fatigue on well-being is negative, whereas it is positive through psychological detachment. A crosssectional study by Labban and Bizzi (2021) further found that communicating with non-work friends while working was associated with more happiness but also more fatigue. These results suggest that well-being increases may result from positive interpersonal experiences and connections to the home domain via social media.…”

A mixed blessing? State mindfulness change, ego depletion and counterproductive work behaviour

“…Supporting this notion, some studies have shown that daily ego depletion is positively related to deviant behaviours such as lying and incivility (e.g., Mead et al, 2009; Rosen et al, 2016). Some indirect evidence also indicates that employee fatigue and emotional exhaustion are positively related to CWB (Chen et al, 2020; Labban & Bizzi, 2021; Lavelle et al, 2021). Based on these arguments and empirical evidence, it is plausible that daily ego depletion may lessen employees' ability to curtail their CWB.…”