Impact of Social Networking Site on Employee Performance

Introduction

1.1. Background of Study

Social networking is creating a dramatic changes or dynamic in the environment but it’s obvious it is creating changes. Social networking an online medium of interaction which let people build relations, share ideas, communicate information and bounding society in sentimental stream. Social networking is making dramatic growth in dynamic environment of now a day. People use social networks for catharsis of their human emotions. Motives of social networking can be different for person to person like; people connect to LinkedIn for professional purpose, Facebook and MySpace for personal motive, Twitter for social networking, Personalized Blogs for personal thoughts and view point. Motive of using social networks can be change but the ultimate logic of connecting is building social contacts and sharing (Ehrlich, 2011).

Social networking is not only targeting young generation. It’s tempting and hitting all age groups and generations. The way to use and respond social networks is not a good thing, nor a bad thing, it’s just a different thing. Using and connecting to social networks is part and parcel now a day of everyone’s life. Now people never ask for mail addresses or mobile numbers instead of that people ask each other for their social network IDs for carrying on long term contacts (Avalos, S. 2011),

Every organization is using social network sites for their professional benefits like creating customer relationship. So it becomes the need and it’s the time for organizations to design workforce according to changing environments. Organization’s productivity and profits base on its employee’s performance, and its employees are strongly connecting to social networks. In other aspects Social networks are creating risks, opportunities, threats, weaknesses, and strengths for organizations. Risk in a way that social networks are real time communication mediums, It can communicate and disseminate information of organization instantly in real timing which organization may never want to share with people outside the organization.

Opportunity in the context that competitor’s employee shared information about upcoming strategy at social medium which can be used for organization’s benefit. Threat can be faced by organizations when its employees discuss internal information of organization at social networks which can be used by its competitors. Social networking can be weakness of organization when it affects its productivity negatively. Same social networking become strength for organizations when it’s used to build good relationship with employees, to direct them is right way, to collect information about employee behavior and to train them (Flynn, 2011),

Social networking affect all sectors of the economy as it affects employee’s skills, productivity, qualification/knowledge and motivational level. Organizations practice social networking for building employer-employee relationship by increasing employee’s skills, productivity, motivational level and knowledge. Organizations evaluate their employees and manage their contributions to keep organization’s image high through social networking. Some organizations direct their employees for ethical behavior in using social networks while they are representator of the organization. For doing all this organizations are formulating some sort of policies regarding using of social networking (Flynn, 2011), however, it can be said that social networking has strong impact on employees’ performance in terms of affecting the skills, productivity, knowledge and motivation.

Guaranty Trust Bank plc was incorporated as a limited liability company licensed to provide commercial and other banking services to the general public of Nigeria in 1990. The Bank commenced operations in February 1991, and has since then grown to become one of the most respected and service focused banks in Nigeria (GTB, 2015). In September 1996, Guaranty Trust Bank plc became a publicly quoted company and won the Nigerian Stock Exchange President’s Merit award that same year and subsequently in the years 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. In February 2002, the Bank was granted a universal banking license and later appointed a settlement bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2003. GT Bank plc has 217 branches, 17 Cash Centres, 18 e-branches, 23 GT Express locations and more than 1141 ATMs in Nigeria.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

Some studies claim that the use of social networking sites makes employees happier and, therefore, more productive (AT&T, 2008; Bennett et al., 2010; Leidner et al., 2010; Li & Bernoff, 2008; Patel & Jasani, 2010) while other studies consider social networking site use a reason for reduced productivity since it can waste time and be addictive (Accountemps, 2010; Nucleus, 2009; O’Murchu et al., 2004; Rooksby et al., 2009; Shepherd, 2011; Wavecrest, 2006).

These studies that argue that using social networking sites reduces productivity in the workplace looked only at the time wasted as a result of social networking site use in the workplace and ignored the possible indirect benefits such as enhanced job satisfaction, higher organizational commitment, lower absenteeism, higher retention rates, higher innovative behavior, and increased productivity. As for studies that argue that the use of social networking sites in the workplace is adding value to organizations, they did not empirically measure the positive effects of social networking site use in the workplace on work-related outcomes.

This study, in turn, attempts to resolve this controversy by empirically studying the direct and mediating effects of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, absenteeism, turnover intention, and innovative behavior on the relationship between social networking site use intensity and job performance

1.3. Objective of the Research

The general objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of social networking site on employee performance while the following are the specific objectives of this study:

1. To find out the impact of social networking site on employee performance.
2. To examine the effect of social networking site on the privacy and security of an organization’s information.
3. To evaluate the potential benefits of social networking site for business in an organization.

1.4. Research Questions

1. What is the impact of social networking site on employee performance?
2. What is the effect of social networking site on the privacy and security of an organization’s information?
3. What are the potential benefits of social networking site for business in an organization?

1.5. Significance of the Study

Studying the effect of social networking site use in the workplace on employee performance is important for several reasons. First, professionals in charge of human resource departments will benefit from understanding the associations elicited by this study. Understanding relationships between social networking site use in the workplace and employee performance and productivity, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, absenteeism, turnover intention, innovative behavior, and job performance can help reveal the underlying rationale for organizations to either allow or disallow the use of social networking sites in the workplace.

Organizations are searching for available means to increase workplace productivity. If the use of social networking sites turns out to be one of these means, organizations will be able to add the use of social networking sites in the workplace to their arsenal of practices to enhance job satisfaction, organizational commitment, absenteeism, turnover intention, innovative behavior, and ultimately job performance. Second, this study contributes to social networking, employee performance, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, absenteeism, turnover intention, innovative behavior, and job performance literature.

The findings of this study will reveal whether the belief that happy workers work harder holds in the context of social networking site use in the workplace..

1.6. Scope and Limitations of the Study

The focus of the study is on the impact of social network sites on employee performance will make use of data obtained from this research to conclude and establish whether the use of social network sites actually results in low productivity or enhances it.

Due to the nature and the subject of the study only educated workers will be involved in the category of workers that are more likely to use the internet as part of their work and during this course make use of social network site as a side entertainment. Workers could be exposed to issues such as network security, cybercrime, pornography, online marketing and advertisement and this study will be touched all these areas considering the previous literature on the subject area.