Social media gaining a workplace foothold

Younger and older workers exploiting networks’ business functionality, Aon survey finds

Whether you’ve banned it or not, social media is in use in the workplace, but it may not be used for what you think. Employees aren’t necessarily using social media for socializing with friends and family. Rather, they say, they use them for work purposes. So, maybe it’s not such a bad idea to let employees use social media and to integrate these tools — such as instant messaging, blogs, wikis, and text messaging — into your employee communications.

Just-released survey findings by Aon Consulting and Insidedge, “Social Media and Employee Communications,” illustrate how more than 8,000 employees of various public and private employers use social media at home and at work. 

“Social media are easy to use and accessible at most workspaces,” said Ken Groh, vice president of Aon Consulting. “So it’s natural for employees who use the same tools they use at home, to stay connected with friends and to research what’s important to them in the workplace. The key finding is that they use these communication tools for work purposes, to connect with co-workers and to do research for their employers,” he added.