Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Alignable, Twitter, Snapchat, Reddit, TicTok!
“They are always on social media!!! How do I stop it?“
You may not want to. In my experience as a manager, I was very clear that I paid my team for their talent, productivity, and skills. I did not pay them just for their time. They were welcome to spend time connecting, socializing on social media as long as they met all of their job expectations.
I’ve worked with countless companies that had a ban on social media. They screamed, it resulted in loss of productivity and was a major distraction, so they chose to implement a “no social media during work hours” policy.
I’ve also worked with companies who encouraged social media interaction. Yes, encouraged.
The differences I found were these.
Those who were banned from social media took more bathroom breaks, spent more time with their doors closed, left the office more often to deliver products, and were ultimately less productive than those who were encouraged to connect on social media.
Why? It’s obvious, right? They were going out of their way to find opportunities to stay connected!
We are now a society of instant and continuous connection. Ask a friend how they are doing and a standard response may be something like “didn’t you see my post?”
We know how people are, where they are, and what they are doing. We watch their children grow post by post. See their success and failures while we sip our coffee and scroll.
Families who are spread out across the nation and even globally can now stay connected through social media.
It’s become our way of life. Our way of connecting with others who we care about. How parents keep an eye on their children when they are away at work. How children message their parents with updates.
Yet we want our employees to disconnect for 8 consecutive hours a day and expect them to thrive?
My companies who encourage social media have found that their employees:
Post raving reviews about their employer
Are more productive when they’re connected
Are less stressed when they can see what their children are posting daily
Are more motivated to do good work
Feel more appreciated and understood
Stay longer
What’s your social media policy? Are your employees connected and thriving or are they disconnected and distracted by the constant worry of what’s happening in the world with out them?
Let them to connect
- Increase productivity
- Increase team morale
- Increase employee loyalty and retention