The ongoing rise of social media is affecting how organizations manage and

operate their employee communication and performance. Along with the biggest social

media platform, Facebook, with over 2 billion users, this brings a new set of disputes for

employees. Despite the counterproductiveness Facebook brings in the workplace, using

Facebook should be allowed during work hours in the Philippines as it boosts

organizational productivity, it is considered a frequent break for employees, and it allows

employees to solve work problems by using this platform.

According to Hootsuite, a social media management platform that creates a

yearly report of all digital trends, that in 2019 the Philippines became the number one

country that spends the most time online, with a total of 76 million social media users,

wherein 75 million uses Facebook, and the time spent online is an average of 10 hours

and 2 minutes, both at home and at work. In the workplace, Facebook is mainly used for

communicating and sometimes even sending emails and important documents as

stated by Media Affairs Committee of Finex, Wilma C. Inventor-Miranda in 2019. In an

article written on 2019 by Julie Cook Ramirez, a professional business journalist,

companies may issue an outright ban on the use of social media during work, however,

other employers have started to allow “social media breaks”, to allow employees to

check Facebook, or other social media apps with the goal to reduce the distractions that

come when employees secretly check their accounts from time to time. In relation to

Ramirez, an article by Dinnie Muslihat, Zenkit's content extraordinaire & productivity

pundit, employees will always find a way to log on to social media such as Facebook

regardless of policies against it. Social media use in the workplace may simultaneously

contribute to productive behaviors (task-oriented and relationship-building) as well as

unproductive behaviors (deviance). The authors examine the impact of using social

media on these organizational behaviors by using a sample of 220 working individuals

they found that intensity of social media use contributed to greater task-oriented social

media behaviors, more relationship-building social media behaviors, and more deviant

social media behaviors. (Ph.D. Carlson, 2016), a doctor of philosophy and a

professional teacher at Hankamer school of Business. According to Flynn (2015), CEO

of Online Optimism, the Facebook usage of employees can be a strength for

organizations when it is used to build a good relationship with employees and it can be

used to collect information about employee behavior as well as to train them. He also

concludes that social networking affects an employee’s performance positively by

increasing their knowledge, abilities, motivational level and close association with

organization.

In a study by Nucleus Research (2018), a global provider of IT research services;

employees using Facebook at work lose 1.5% of their overall productivity, which is

roughly 30 minutes -- or twice the amount of time allotted for their break time. Ashley

Adams-Mott (2018), a journalist with 12 years of small business management

experience, believes that Facebook hinders employees to work to their fullest potential,

because Facebook pulls them in and keeps them longer than how long some

employees do work. Lastly, in a survey by AdWeek Digital services (2015), 44% of

employees in the UK think that Facebook negatively impacts the workplace. This shows

that social media, specifically Facebook, does not have a positive impact on the

employees' productivity and work problems, thus, it should not be accessed during work

hours.
 A study by Microsoft, an American multinational technology company, states that

46% of employees have identified social tools such as Facebook are important factors

that have contributed to their improved productivity at work. At the same time, according

to Microsoft’s research about employees are more productive with social tools, 31% of

employees said that they are willing to spend their own money to use other social tools.

This allows the organization to work together conveniently which leads them to

implement their best ideas for the company. As claimed by Cornerstone OnDemand, a

cloud-based learning, talent management and talent experience software provider,

employees are more productive overall and stay longer at their jobs when using 1 and 4

social media sites each week than those who don’t use social media. Encouraging the

employees to use it everyday for personal reasons and for work would let them love

their jobs more. It would also boost your employer brand and attract other potential

employees as well. According to Armando Bartolome, known as the Philippines’

Franchise Guru and a mentor to numerous micro entrepreneurs, an individual who gets

time to relax by using social media turns out to be more efficient with his work because

he does not feel that stressed. Just a few moments of using social media, chatting

online or surfing the web, many employees will feel recharged and ready to face tasks

with a new load of creativity. It strongly made a convincing argument that social media

is a motivational force for most employees because it boosts their productivity in the

workplace by providing factual information and its possible effects through relatable

instances among the employees. In this case, employers want to keep their employees

more productive. Social media is an inexpensive and easy-to-implement tool that can

affect the productivity in your workplace positively.

 According to Chitra Reddy (2016), an experienced International BPO/ Operations

and Recruitment Areas Manager, taking a Facebook social media break has become a

great help for most people as it greatly increases their outcome and productivity. Some

employers have begun instituting “social media breaks,” giving employees designated

times to check their Facebook. The goal is not merely to please employees by granting

them access to their social media universe, but to cut back on the distractions that come

when employees are surreptitiously checking their accounts throughout the day . A study

of Dr. Brent Coker, a researcher and lecturer of Marketing, observed 300 participants

who were able to take social media breaks, and once these participants were able to

scroll through their social media newsfeed and connect with friends and family online,

their minds reset, enabling them to start fresh when they focused on work again. It

showed that flexibility in the workplace brought a 53% increase to employee morale as

well as a 20% increase in their productivity level. Social media just like Facebook can

be an incredibly refreshing experience. It gives you time to enjoy life in the here and

now, instead of analyzing what others are seemingly doing according to (Taylor-Smith,

2017), a writer, editor and proofreader specializing in business management trends. It

also creates a safe space for employees to share their concerns before going online.

People that take a Facebook break refreshes the minds of workers helping them to be

productive, so it is highly advisable that every employee should enjoy a Facebook break

so that they can reset their minds to be better and more successful in their job.

According to Lorenzo Bizzi (2018), an associate business professor at California

State University, 82% of employees who engage in online social interactions with

coworkers through Facebook tend to be more motivated and come up with innovative
ideas. The effects of Facebook depend on who employees interact with; employees

who interact with their colleagues that share meaningful work experiences. Also, they

engaged in some key activities including researching new organizations and making

new work connections through Facebook. In a report by the ‘think tank’ Pew Research

Centre (2016): study shows that employers believe staff are 10% less likely to use

Facebook for personal reasons while on the job as well as 90% more likely to use

Facebook to help solve work problems. Managers whose companies regulate social

media at work say they use Facebook while working to get information that’s helpful to

their job. Aside from that, they use Facebook in order to make or support professional

contacts that help them do their job, learning more about someone they work with,

building or strengthening personal relationships with coworkers, and asking work-

related questions to people outside and inside with their organization. Tony Jeanetta

(2017), a journalist of The Olson Group, a business resource center, states that social

media is an easy way to encourage communication between employees to help share

their ideas and to increase engagement and boost employee morale at work and at

home. Through Facebook, more and better connections may result in sales leads,

interest in employment, business opportunities, and collaborating new ideas. It became

a way for the employees to spread information about their company. This information

can also help with brand awareness and open up new recruiting and business

opportunities. Sometimes, employees have an issue they can’t seem to solve but social

media may be the answer due to the fact that it can help employees when dealing with

a difficult work problem and also, it is a means to gain new perspectives in terms of

solving work problems.

 Concludingly, Daniel Adzovie, a professor of social media marketing and of

strategic communication in the University of Cape Coast stated in his case study on the

influence of Facebook usage on employees (2017): “time spent on Facebook during

work hours is beneficial as the usage by employees enhances employee productivity

and promotes the flow of ideas from employees which aids in innovation. The results

show that Facebook does a good thing inside the workplace and is a positive factor for

employees.”
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