Paradoxical implications of personal social media use for work

Abstract

New information and communication technologies can have paradoxical implications: they may be liberating and constraining at the same time. This field study examines the direct implications of personal social media use for work on employees’ autonomy and work pressure, and the indirect effects on exhaustion and work engagement. A total of 364 employees of three large multinationals responded to a web‐based survey. Results demonstrate the presence of a paradox, as social media for work is associated positively with both autonomy and work pressure. SNS use has indirect effects on exhaustion and engagement through autonomy, and on exhaustion through work pressure, but not on engagement through work pressure. Furthermore, one's responsiveness to colleagues’ communication decreases the relation between use and autonomy, although not between use and work pressure. Overall, employees seem more likely to be burdened by the use of social media for work than benefit from it, but managing one's responsiveness can help.

Online boundary work tactics: an affordance perspective

“…Because of the specific affordances of social media, we identified online boundary work tactics that enhance earlier studies of offline boundary work, as well as the behaviour-based notions of ICT-mediated boundary work presented by Sayah (2013) and Yeow (2014). Earlier studies have focused on boundary characteristics (Clark, 2000;Kreiner et al, 2009) and on the artefacts people use for boundary work (Nippert-Eng, 1996a,b).…”

“…Research has also addressed how social media have modified workplace relationships (Archer‐Brown et al ., ); the use of personal social media for work, and their potential to reduce autonomy and increase work pressure (van Zoonen and Rice, ); and how Twitter can help deal with emotions in service workplaces, such as restaurants (Ticona, ). Charoensukmongkol (: 340) suggests that ‘social media use at work may not necessarily lead to negative job‐related outcomes,’ but focuses on neither boundaries nor private life.…”

“…In a similar vein, Ladner (2008: 465) suggests that the use of technology alone might render boundaries more permeable but 'it is the underlying social relations of workplaces that affect how individuals negotiate the use of these technologies'. Sayah (2013), focussing on the dimensions and directions of boundary work through information and communication technologies (ICT), and Yeow (2014), focussing on boundary work within the work-sphere, look at the influence of a range of mobile technologies on boundaries and boundary work.…”

Social media affordances in entry‐level employees’ socialization: employee agency in the management of their professional impressions and vulnerability during early stages of socialization

“…Second Life) (Kaplan and Haenlein, ). However, social media can have contradictory and paradoxical effects (Majchrzak et al ., ; Van Zoonen and Rice, ). For example, Majchrzak et al .…”

“…() showed diverse online group members encountered communication problems due to conflicting ideas and members’ arguing for win‐lose resolutions online. More recently, Van Zoonen and Rice () found work‐related usage of personal social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) was associated with feelings of exhaustion when employees felt higher level of work pressure.…”