Social Media Monitoring Apps – Could They Help Create A More Productive And Happier You?

With social media usage in the workplace becoming common practice is it now time for businesses to monitor their employees with social media monitoring apps?

Amongst the various business tools used in business nowadays, social networking is the newest trend at workplaces and an integral business tool as well.

Although no one can deny the importance of a business having an online presence. And how social media has made interacting with customers and getting their feedback much easier, it has caused a lot of problems at work as well.

According to the research conducted by the University of Bergen (UiB) social media usage for personal reasons during work hours has a negative impact.

Not only on employee productivity but the general well-being of the businesses as well.

The research says that more than one billion people worldwide use social media every day.

The habit of checking notifications repeatedly has affected workplace productivity to a great extent.

Four out of five employees use social media for personal reasons at work.

This unrestricted use of social media impacts workplace productivity.

This is due to the employees spending more than 32% of their time using social media apps or sites like Facebook every day for personal use while being at work.

As per the TeamLease World of Work Report, on average, a person spends 2.35 hours accessing social media every single day at work.

13% of the total productivity is lost because of this act of using social media sites and apps.

The study also revealed that alongside the loss of productivity, the extensive social media usage had led to defamation, misinformation, and increasing loss of confidential company data.

The report says that Facebook is the most-visited social media platform.

Out of the 62% of employees who accessed social media during work hours, 83% of them spent significant time in scrolling down their Facebook news feed.

A number of studies have taken place regarding measuring the distraction levels of social media at the workplace.

The results of all of them combined are somewhat mixed.

237 corporate employees were surveyed for a study and it was found out that 77% of them checked their social media accounts during work hours.

This has resulted in a 1.5% decrease in productivity.

Another Study

According to another study, on average, workers spend 32% of their total working time on social media every day.

Collectively, this resulted in a loss of 13% of total productivity.

These kinds of results are expected. No two workplaces are the same and the majority of these studies were conducted while being focused on a single work environment.

Studies reveal that an average millennial spends more than two hours a day using their phone which means that they check it about 157 times.

18% of social media users cannot go beyond few hours without checking their notifications.

Due to this increase in social media usage at work with employees checking their Facebook feeds, Twitter accounts, WhatsApp and everything else that they are social on, a majority of the companies have begun to use social media monitoring apps and WhatsApp tracking apps.

Social media monitoring apps let employers know exactly how much time an employee spends on social media sites and apps.

It has become necessary that employers monitor their employees. This monitoring shows how company resources are being used and helps ensure that employees are completing their designated tasks.

If the employees are allowed to use their smartphones and access social media apps, rest assured that some of the time will be wasted.

For employees, the idea of catching a short break from work, or numerous of them is rather tempting.

The urge to just have a quick glance at the newsfeed. Reply to a comment. To check their WhatsApp messages. Or just check the news is irresistible.

The majority of employees may see this as a minimal waste of time but some employees take advantage and spend most of their time browsing Facebook and chatting on WhatsApp.

This is where it begins to get problematic

The results of the aforementioned studies clearly indicate that using social media at work does affect workplace productivity.

Associate Professor of psychology Maurice Delgado at Rutgers University in the United States has explained how social media is addictive.

Each notification increases the dopamine levels in the brain that leads to happiness and predicts an unexpected reward.

This makes people wanting more as every ‘ping’ increases dopamine levels.

Due to the addiction that most people seem to have with social media, a large number of businesses have started to take disciplinary actions against the employees for misusing social media, and because of this, more employers have begun to monitor their employees and have made strict policies regarding social media use at the office.

Various studies

Various studies show that social media apps and sites are the biggest distraction at work.

Short app breaks when combined together amount to a lot of work time being wasted.

Employers have taken to social media monitoring apps to curb the wastage of time and company resources.

With social media monitoring apps and WhatsApp tracking apps, employers monitor the progress of their employees and see how much time they waste when it could have been utilized to complete their assignments.

Many employers have achieved great results and have been more than satisfied after using social media monitoring apps.

A large number of companies provide smartphones to their employees for work-related purposes.

Most workers misuse them. These smartphones prove to be the biggest distraction of all.

As rather than work-related tasks, they are used for checking social media accounts.

Xnspy is an effective employee monitoring solution. It is being used by employers to monitor their workers’ social media use. Xnspy social media monitoring app has proven to be of great help to the employers as they can see at a glance what their employee has been up to.

The app needs to be installed on the phone which needs to be monitored.

Then all of the user’s social media activities can be easily be kept track of.

The Xnspy employee monitoring solution, for example, allows employers to see when their employees access social media apps at work.

It also acts as a WhatsApp tracking app.

Social media or not employee monitoring is necessary

It is vital that employers check the performance of their employees.

Digital times call for digital measures, and therefore, social media monitoring is crucial as well.

When a company provides smartphones to its employees, it can now keep a check on how it is being used.

Social media monitoring apps and WhatsApp tracking apps let employers know what their employees do on social media.

They inform on who are they talking, and ensure that they act responsibly.

Furthermore, when the employees know they are being watched, they indulge in safe and conscious behavior.

Although some employees might feel that it adds to the stress of the job; in reality, when the employees know they are being watched, they perform better.

Employees should be informed that whether social media monitoring apps are used or not.

And that their employers are keeping an eye on them and their activities.

With monitoring apps, employers have been able to see how many times the social media sites were accessed and the websites which were visited.

Monitoring apps provide the information in real-time and display it in an easy-to-understand manner on the online dashboard.

Employee monitoring is necessary not only to ensure that employees are productive but also that they are being safe online.

There are a large number of threats out there. Scams and frauds could lead to massive data breaches or loss of confidential information.

Social media usage at work heightens the risk of online damage to the business.

This can take shape in the form of defamation, data leaks by cyber crooks accessing the confidential information of the organization.

One of the reasons workers find ways to distract themselves and spend time on social media is that there is often little or no challenge to their work. Or it has just become repetitive and monotonous.

Therefore, workers find reasons to catch short breaks all day long to escape.

On the other hand, employees need to see that they are paid to work at the workplace.

They should focus more on their job than spending time on social media.

They should pay attention to the fact that social media is actually a distraction.

Social media is not a bad thing.

But its misuse due to its addictive nature is definitely a legit concern for employers.

Timely intervention and the use of social media monitoring apps could help both employers and employees in the long run, increasing both efficiency and productivity.

That’s all for now

Do you access social media at work?

Is social media a working distraction for you?

Do you have experience with Xnspy or any other social media monitoring apps?

Let me know in the comments section below.

Regards Dexter

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Summary

Article Name

Social Media Monitoring Apps could mean a more productive work place

Description

With social media usage in the workplace becoming common practice is it now time for businesses to monitor their employees with social media monitoring apps?

Author

Dexter Roona

Publisher Name

Infobunny

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