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Use of Social Media at the Office – Good or Bad?


Many businesses that used to deny employees access to social media are now increasingly making access available.  It is as if there is a renewed awareness that use of social at the office is not necessarily always a bad thing.   The main reason why businesses did not in the beginning want to give employees access to social media is because of fear of loss of productivity and even misuse of social media. 

Why is use of social media at the office a good thing?  I can think of at least the following reasons:

Source: Twitter.
  • A more favourable perception of the business by employees is created which in turn could result in even higher productivity.
  • Networking opportunities for employees outside the business are possible which could benefit the business in the long term.
  • Employees are granted the opportunity to build a personal professional brand through various social media.
  • Employees can even assist in building the company brand through a perception of expertise in the business.
  • Employees are able to have access to instant news regarding the industry by following experts on social media.

There is always the possibility that social media could be abused by some employees but provided that social media are used within the particular guidelines of the social media policy of a business, these are just some advantages of using social media in the workplace.  

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