The relationship between social media usage in the workplace and employee productivity in the public sector: Case study of government departments in Harare

Abstract

Orientation: The advent of social media has taken new dimensions becoming one of the most significant methods of how people communicate all over the world. In particular, the usage of social media and networking sites is a phenomenon that has brought great negative and positive impact to organisations and employees nowadays.

Research purpose: The primary aim of the study sought to determine the relationship between social media usage in the workplace and employee productivity in the public sector with particular reference to government departments in Harare.

Motivation for the study: There have been rising concerns about the use of social media sites in the workplace because of loss of labour productivity through time wasted at work.

Research approach/design and method: The study adopted a positivist research approach because it had ontological assumptions of representationalism and objectivism. Because of the nature of the research objectives, a descriptive research design was found to be necessary. A sample size of 278 management and employees from five selected government departments was targeted. Structured questionnaires were used for the collection of relevant primary data.

Main findings: The study revealed that social media usage in the workplace resulted in significant drop in employees’ productivity because of time spent online keeping in touch with friends, sharing pictures and communicating with colleagues.

Practical/managerial implications: As social media cannot be completely eradicated during working hours, the human resources departments need to monitor deadlines and job deliverables with the need to ensure that jobs are performed efficiently.

Contribution/value-add: The study sought to fill the existing research gaps with regard to the use of social media at workplace and employee productivity.