Influence of using social media for social purposes outside of work on employees in the workplace

Objective: In the current age, social media is widely used for social purposes in daily life. This study aims to identify the influence of using social media for social purposes outside of work on employees’ oral communication skills, workplace isolation, and mood in workplace. Methodology: The data were collected using valid and reliable instruments. Two hundred one full-time employees from various organizations in the United States of America were recruited by distributing a survey to them electronically. Results: The findings, obtained by analyzing data using various techniques in the SPSS software platform, show that negative feelings generated from using social media for social purposes outside of work negatively influence participants’ mood at work. However, the influence of using social media on participants’ oral communication skills and level of workplace isolation is weak. Age and experience influence the correlations between the participants’ use of social media for social purposes outside of work and their oral communication skills, workplace isolation, and mood in the workplace. Older, experienced participants are less affected than younger participants. Conclusion: The findings provide important contributions to the field of management. Knowing that negative feelings generated from using social media influence participants’ mood suggests that employees’ performance could be affected. In addition, interpersonal relationships may be affected, as bad moods create tensions that can lead to interpersonal conflict in the workplace. This suggests there is a need to educate employees about the consequences of using social media for social purposes outside of work.