44% Of Workers Say Social Media Increases Productivity

Sites include Facebook.com , Twitter.com . Published on September 11th, 2012. Written by Anthony West.

The verdict is still out on whether Facebook and other social media platforms should be a part of the workplace but more and evidence is tipping the balance in their favor.

A new study conducted by Amplitude Research is suggesting that employers may benefit from keeping social media active in the workplace. According to the study, only 5% of workers attribute their time wasting to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. The majority of time wasting it seems takes place outside of social networking on the job.

Things like talking with co-workers account for the biggest chunk of time-wasting in the workplace. Computer glitches and meetings combined account for 22% of wasted time on the job.

But perhaps the biggest revelation of the study was the belief among workers that social media far from decreasing productivity, actually increases it. Upwards of 44% of workers said they believe having access to social media tools like Facebook and Twitter actually made them do more work.

Of course, Amplitude’s study isn’t conclusive and the debate about social media’s impact in the workplace is still on-going. What it does however, is show that with a bit of creative application, social media can enhance workplace activities.

Do you think social media should be banned from the workplace entirely? Share your views below.