Facebook Workplace – Productive or Distraction?

On October 10, 2016 Facebook launched a commercial version of their social networking platform, Workplace.

Workplace was designed as a way for business to collaborate & get work done more efficiently. This new enterprise version of Facebook has over 1,000 organizations signed up including: Booking.com, Campbell’s, and Columbia Sportswear. Imagine having most functions within Facebook, but geared for a different purpose to change the way you work.

Workplace shares many functions with its competitors such as Slack, Yammer, and Jive. It allows companies to create open or closed groups, message or video chat with other employees, record and stream live video, share project updates and reports, as well as search throughout the platform.

The creation of Facebook Workplace brings up the following questions:

1. Do you wander through Facebook while at work?
2. Is social media a critical part of your day, so much that 15-20 minutes is spent online at work?

If you answered yes to either one of these questions, then you are part of an epidemic plagued by the distraction of Social Media in the workplace.

“Twenty minutes a day is a lot of time — well more than a year over the course of the average life span. If users spent just that time working for minimum wage instead of liking and poking each other, each would pull in about $880 a year. That’s almost $900 billion in aggregate hypothetical labor last year.” – NBC News

If Social Media within the workplace is an issue why would companies create social networks for the work place?

The value of Social Media within the workplace can be tremendous if used properly.

A Harvard Business Review study suggests that Social Media has a productivity payoff. This payoff is simply improved collaboration and communication through social media platforms. Facebook Workplace’s new “Workfeed” function allows users to engage and interact with the sole purpose of getting their jobs done. This idea of communication and collaboration is what differentiates Social Media from traditional channels. Email inboxes and folders do not spark this creativity or engagement.

How do you feel about Social Media in the workplace? We would love to hear your feedback!

For more information on social media marketing in general contact us today!