Does Social Media Make Us Less Productive?

 

Social media tools were supposed to make employees more connected and more empowered. So, why are the more distracted and less productive than ever?

 

The rise of social media has made us all more connected than ever. We can use sites like Facebook and Twitter to connect with friends, build our networks, communicate with co-workers and even find a job. Most companies have adapted many social networking tool into their daily office routine, thinking that it would empower their employees, make communication easier and make them more productive. So, why are workers more distracted than ever?

 

According to a survey on harmon.ie, businesses are losing money in lost productivity at a higher rate than ever before. Their survey found that 60 percent of work interruptions involve social media tools or email and that switching between windows and stand alone applications are actually making employees less productive.

 

Hang on, I just got a text.

 

Wow, a couple of my friends on Twitter were just planning the weekend get together. Oh wait, where was I? Right. Lost productivity.

 

The survey shouldn't come as any surprise to those who use these tools on a daily basis. In fact, the survey said that 45 percent of employees only work for about 15 minutes before being interrupted by social media and that they waste at least an hour a day dealing with these types of distractions.

 

It certainly makes me feel better to know that I'm not the only one that finds keeping up with my Facebook, my Twitter feed, emails and text message difficult at best. Some days, I am just overwhelmed by the amount of information that is being directed my way.

 

The survey concluded that just one wasted hour a day can cost a company $10,375 annually. Of course, this is based on an average salary of $30 per hour. For larger businesses, this amount per worker could cost them millions.

 

I am not sure what the solution is. I think that before we all collectively condemm social media, we have to take into consideration how much time it would take to communicate through a phone call or an in person visit. I would wager that the time saved makes up for the time lost through distraction and information overload.

 

I don't think that social media is the problem. Instead, I place the blame on our compulsive need to check everything the instant that we are alerted to it. If you want to eliminate distraction in your work day, set aside certain times to check your email, Facebook, Twitter feed and handle any text messages, rather than dealing with them right away. Just because people can send you information instantly doesn't mean that you have to attend to it instantly.

 

This is a hard lesson for most of us, and it isn't new. Think of how many people you know that would run to answer their phone, risking falling and breaking their legs just to keep the call from going to voicemail. Even without social media, many of us can't seem to accept that there is nothing wrong with returning a call later or replying to an email a couple of hours after it was sent.

 

I don't know what the answer is, and honestly, I can't be bothered to think about it too much. I have to respond to this Tweet and I have several new emails to deal with.

 

 

What do you think about social media? Does it make you less productive? How do you cope with the interruptions? I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions in the comments.

 

 

 

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for SalesHeadsBlog, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.