How Does Social Media Affect Productivity at Work?
I came across two different infographics on how social media use affects productivity at work, but they come to opposite conclusions.
The first infographic is from Compliance and Safety makes the case for allowing both personal and business-related social media use at work:
The second infographic I found on BitRebels.com, and is based on a Microsoft study about interruptions:
Can these two perspectives be reconciled?
As regular readers of this blog already know, interruptions are a major productivity killer, and I’m all for keeping them to a minimum. So if you’re allowing social media to interrupt other important things you should be doing during the day (such as by allowing notifications or other alerts to distract you when you’re working on a substantive project), it might be time to re-think how you use social media.
But social media can be a good way to take a break, unwind, bounce ideas off of others, to get new business ideas and increase your engagement with clients, potential clients and referral sources.
Bottom line: It isn’t that social media is bad or good per se – it’s all in how you use it, what purpose it serves, and when you engage in social media activities.