Title: How Americans Use Social Media at Work | Pew Research Center
Headings: Social Media and the Workplace
Social Media and the Workplace
New platforms can be tools for connection with colleagues and outside experts, but can also serve as distractions while on the job
Workers turn to social media for a range of reasons while at work, with taking a mental break being among the most common
Many employers have rules for how employees use social media at work
Relatively few workers use specific social media platforms for work-related purposes, and the impact of that use is not always clear-cut
One-quarter of workers report that they never use the internet for work-related tasks in the course of a typical day
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Content: Many employers have rules for how employees use social media at work
Many workers report that their employers have policies about social media use on the job, or about how employees may present themselves in various online spaces. Half of all full-time and part-time workers (51%) say their workplace has rules about using social media while at work (45% say their employer does not have these policies), while 32% report that their employer has policies about how employees may present themselves on the internet in general (63% say their employer does not have these policies). Policies that regulate how employers present themselves online outside of work may be expected to influence whether these workers use social media at all. However, this does not seem to be the case: Fully 77% of workers report using social media regardless of whether their employer has such a policy in place. At the same time, there is some evidence that workplace policies concerning social media use while on the job may have an effect. Workers whose companies have policies regulating social media use at work are less likely to use social media in certain ways: 30% of workers whose companies have an at-work social media policy say they use social media while on the job to take a break from work, compared with 40% of workers whose employers do not have such policies. 20% of workers whose employers have at-work social media policies say they use social media to stay connected to family and friends while on the job, compared with 35% of workers whose social media use is not regulated at work. Only 16% of workers whose companies regulate social media at work say they use social media while working to get information that’s helpful to their job, compared with 25% of those whose workplaces have no such regulations.