The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-7472.htm
PM
28,3
138
Received February 2009
Revised April 2009
Accepted August 2009
Property Management
Vol. 28 No. 3, 2010
pp. 138-148
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0263-7472
DOI 10.1108/02637471011051282
Workplace impact of social
networking
James Bennett
Drivers Jonas Deloitte, Leeds, UK, and
Mark Owers, Michael Pitt and Michael Tucker
School of Built Environment, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to examine the impact of social networking in the workplace and to
assess its use as an effective business tool.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines positive and negative perceptions of social
networking in the workplace and provides a critical review of literature in the area. The drivers of, and
barriers to, change are explored, and whether the reasons for some organisations prohibiting or
restricting social networking in the workplace are well-founded or corporate suicide. The link between
social networking and organisational culture is examined, looking at whether social networking tools
are capable of revitalising and reshaping the culture and brand of an organisation, which in turn can
lead to better ways of working and increased levels of employee productivity and satisfaction.
Findings – The findings indicate that the business advantages and benefits of social networking in
the workplace are still very much underappreciated and undervalued. Although some organisations
across the world have started to implement some of the facets of social networking technology and
reap the business benefits, fear, resistance and risk are the opinions that still dominate many
organisations.
Originality/value – The value of social networking technology in the workplace is yet to be
determined. This paper addresses gaps in the current literature and demonstrates that the business
benefits of social networking far outweigh the negative perceptions that are still predominant in the
pre-millennial generations. The paper highlights that social networking technology can facilitate
improved workplace productivity by enhancing the communication and collaboration of employees
which aids knowledge transfer and consequently makes organisations more agile. Moreover, social
networking can provide enhanced levels of employee satisfaction by reducing the social isolation of
teleworkers and making them feel part of organisational culture during long absences from the
physical office.
Keywords Social networks, Culture, Workplace, Productivity rate, United Kingdom
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
In light of the recent global recession, companies are using any and every possible
means to ensure they are best equipped to weather the immensity and vastness of the
economic storm, using cost cutting methods ranging from company-wide pay freezes
to the cancelling of the annual Christmas party. In addition to introducing cost saving
methods, employers are expecting their employees to work harder, faster and longer.
This has unquestionably led to many employees experiencing low levels of workplace
satisfaction.
There has therefore never been a more critical time for radical and innovative
approaches to business. Combating the twin aims of increasing workplace productivity
and employee satisfaction is a challenge at the best of times but in the middle of a Workplace
downturn it is even more so, but certainly not impossible. Revitalising and possibly impact of social
even reinventing the culture of companies and the way companies do business is key to
achieving increased levels of workplace productivity and employee satisfaction (Pitt networking
and Bennett, 2008). One method of achieving this is through social networking.

The virtual workplace 139

The recent years we have witnessed a fragmentation and redistribution of working
modes and patterns. Hotels, cafes, bars, trains, and airport terminals are becoming
increasingly utilised as places of work. We are now living in an information age where
work is being redefined beyond traditional bounds of space and time (McGregor,
2000a). Technology has blurred the traditional distinctions between work
environments and buildings and many businesses have increasingly adopted a
virtual approach to workspace (Igbaria and Guimaraes, 1999; Kayworth and Leidner,
2000; McGregor, 2000b; Townsend et al., 1998). This has led to businesses evolving into
larger organisational networks, containing a workforce that is dispersed over different
locations and time zones. Although technology has facilitated more distributed ways of
working, it can also, through the use of social networking, facilitate the human
requirements that are essential for distributed ways of working to succeed, in
particular ensuring team spirit and culture is maintained no matter where you are in
the world. Bell et al. (2008) argue that managing a dispersed and ever-busier workforce
is dependent on creating the spirit and team work necessary for organisations to
continue to generate new ideas. Now that work can take place anywhere, the office
rather than being a place where people just come to work, is now increasingly
becoming an opportunity for people to signify personal involvement in organisational
culture and to participate in the values and beliefs of the organization (Bell et al., 2008).
But for remote workers who are generally absent from the office for long periods of
time, it becomes increasingly difficult to immerse oneself in organisational culture.
Social networking sites however, provide opportunities for both formal and informal
interaction and collaboration with fellow employees and clients/customers which aids
knowledge transfer and communication. The sites also have various informal
applications and games that members of the same organisation can engage in across
geographical boundaries and time zones so that team spirit and organisational culture
can be maintained.
What makes social networking unique is that the control of online content shifts
from the site owner to the contributor of material to the sites. In other words,
organisations that have implemented social networking have experienced a shift in
culture from “information gathering” to “information participation”. One could contend
therefore that social networking can enable virtual workers to work more effectively
through enhanced communication and collaboration as well as providing a plethora of
detailed professional and personal information about contacts which can be
immediately updated whenever people move jobs, offices, or departments. All of
these practices are easy to implement and cost effective.
However, some still regard virtual workspaces as inhibiting communication (Hill
et al., 1998; Huws et al., 1990). Akkirman and Harris (2005) argue that one of the most
frequently expressed concerns about virtual spaces is that traditional social mechanics
that facilitate communication are lost. During their research, Akkirman and Harris
PM (2005) studied a company that implemented several social networking strategies to
28,3 keep the virtual workers in the communication loop. Among these were socially
engaging tactics such as the e-café, where employees could enjoy chat-rooms, post and
read e-Bulletin Boards, play chess at lunch and read newspapers. However from their
study, Akkirman and Harris (2005) found that companies can reap benefits beyond
increased productivity and cost shifting through implementing the above listed
140 communication tactics. They found that employee satisfaction and related variables
such as turnover and motivation can improve as well (Akkirman and Harris, 2005).

History of social networking

Since entering the vernacular, social networking has been perceived with both fear and
reverence (Ellison et al., 2007; Richardson and Hessey, 2009). Irrespective of this, social
networking is among one of the most significant business developments of the
twenty-first century by adding another dimension to the way people communicate all
over the world. Typically, a social networking service focuses on building online
communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in
exploring the interests and activities of others. There are a diverse range of social
networking sites which include Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The
sites focus on the building and verifying of online social networks for communities of
people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the
interests and activities of others. These sites generally provide a number of ways for
users to interact and communicate with each other including instant messaging, chat
rooms, e-mail, webcams, file sharing, blogging and discussion groups (Bell et al., 2008).
Being able to network and maintain contacts through life and work is one of the
most crucial aspects for success, but is often one of the most overlooked areas. It is
hidden, intangible work that is unaccounted for in any employee performance
appraisal. Nardi et al. (2002) argue that once contacts are in a network, they often
require “care and feeding”. They further point out that while dormant contacts may be
activated after surprisingly long periods of time, many people feel the need to nurture
relationships.
Nardi et al. (2002) stress that employees’ social networks play an increasingly
important role in the workplace, maintaining that professional networking has become
crucial to businesses which rely on project and team related work. When social
networking entered the public domain, many recognised it as an opportunity to further
enhance work-based communication practices (Nardi et al., 2002). Earlier studies also
support the view that enhancing communication and networking practices through
technology can increase productivity. Ancona and Caldwell (1988) argue that relying
on outsiders for resources or information can produce valuable resources that are
related to high team performance. Before the advent of social networking, maintaining
a professional network was extremely labour intensive. Much effort was put into the
creation and maintenance of professional networks as remembering who is part of the
professional network, staying updated on their connections’ location and work status,
and carefully choosing how to communicate efficiently with them are all of great
importance (Nardi et al., 2002). Lange et al. (2008) support this point of view and argue
that social networks are a remarkably efficient means of initiating and maintaining
hundreds, or even thousands of acquaintances, simultaneously and with little effort.
Death of the intranet Workplace
Intranets, which are largely the norm in many companies at present will increasingly impact of social
be viewed as an outmoded technology, unable to accommodate the requirements of the
modern worker. Intranets, although useful, are centrally controlled with control of networking
content remaining in the hands of the site owner/IT administrator. At best, intranets
are updated daily but in today’s world where work-based projects can change by the
hour or even minute, control of information should be made available for everyone and 141
should be updated every second, if required. As Vos and van der Voordt (2001) argue,
retaining personal control in the workplace is one of the key elements necessary to
ensure workplace satisfaction.
Personal control can be defined as having control over the physical as well as
virtual environment. Companies that control data content through centrally controlled
intranets in the virtual environment as well as implement hot-desking and space
sharing principles in the physical workplace run the risk of denying their employees
any feeling of control over personalisation of space in both their physical and virtual
workspaces. As the physical design of offices in many organisations now largely
incorporates hot-desking and clear desk principles with no fixed desk allocation, some
have questioned the ability for employees to maintain workplace satisfaction through
personalisation of space (Pitt and Bennett, 2008). Haynes (2007a, b) reiterates this by
contending that the design of offices which incorporates hot-desking simply prevents
individuals from the need to express their identity and personality through
modification of their workplace environment.
If, as Wells (2000), Nathan and Doyle (2002) and Tucker and Smith (2008) argue,
there are close associations between personalisation and workplace satisfaction, it
seems the only way to counteract disenchantment at being prevented from
personalising workspace would be to implement social networking into the virtual
workspace. This would enable employees control over content of material and
participate in knowledge-sharing rather than just receiving information and data from
a central source. Pooling information from a workplace of 100 employees is certainly
more in tune with collaborative ways of working than just a small IT unit of two people
churning out fragments of information on a daily basis.
As Nardi et al. (2002) argues, the current generation of contract management
software cannot represent the dynamic qualities or communication-centric nature of
these networks. If companies are going to gain advantage over competitors, employees
require tools that social networking provide: i.e. the ability for workers to organise
their work around currently active contacts, with easy access to information associated
with those contacts, as well as providing techniques for identifying when other aspects
of the network need to be reactivated. At the organisational level, these technologies
recognise the diversity of workers, including contractors, consultants, alliance partners
and regular employees which can enhance communication and access to information
across boundaries that vary depending on the nature of the worker’s relationship to the
company and to fellow workers (Nardi et al., 2002).

The strength of weak ties

The benefits that social networking can have for companies is not a recent
development (Ancona and Caldwell, 1988; Pickering and King, 1995). However, with
the recent astronomical popularity of Facebook, My Space and in particular LinkedIn,
PM people are beginning to see the strategic benefits that it can offer companies (Boyd and
28,3 Ellison, 2007; Nardi et al., 2002). One of the major benefits is the ease with which it is
possible to communicate, collaborate and share information through weak contacts or
“ties”.
Granovetter (1973) argued that weak ties as opposed to strong ties provide the
opportunity of connecting with new individuals. Granovetter argues that when a tie is
142 weak, there is a much better chance of individuals’ social circles not overlapping and
consequently the opportunity to access new resources, information and contacts. This
theory can have an extremely powerful impact inside organisations throughout the
world if harnessed in the right way. For example, with the development of social
networking tools such as “wikis”, corporations are able to leverage the power of
collaborative networks which are replacing traditional institutional resources for
problem-solving. If given the right environment and tools, employees can cooperate
and collaborate with unknown colleagues and potential contacts to help achieve the
overall strategic goals of the organisation (Fraser and Dutta, 2008). Social networking
and Web 2.0 software have the power to destroy old-fashioned vertical ways of
working by encouraging open communication and information sharing. Fraser and
Dutta (2008) argue that by implementing social networking tools, expertise and
solutions to problems would no longer remain hidden and conversely, could be actively
sought out and exploited. Since social networking tools foster transparent
communication visible to all, the collaborative input of any employee, even far down
the formal hierarchy, could be known, recognised and potentially rewarded. Status and
prestige incentives are thus built into the collaborative process which some have
argued are the key factors which contribute to employee productivity and satisfaction
(Vos and van der Voordt, 2001; Pitt and Bennett, 2008).

Changing the face of the public sector

UK government appears to have carefully selected and tapped into certain facets of
social networking and associated technologies in an attempt to reshape their brand and
cultural identity. Using sites such as YouTube to try and enhance its openness and
transparency. For example, the recent furore over MP expenses led Gordon Brown,
Prime Minister of the UK, to unveil new policy initiatives via YouTube. However, the
medium for conveying the initiatives was criticised for being constitutionally
unorthodox and was lampooned by many fellow politicians.
YouTube is however being increasingly used by politicians in order to appeal to a
younger audience, in particular targeting “Generation Y”, who are accustomed with
these technologies. Politicians such as David Cameron, Leader of the Conservative
Party, are beginning to recognise how organisational culture and brand can be
significantly influenced by social networking and social media, by using carefully
rehearsed performances in order to appear transparent, open and honest and
attempting to represent a twenty first century politician and man. Although open to
criticism within the UK political arena, social networking will certainly grow in
frequency and evolve as a future medium for conveying political agendas. Lange et al.
(2008) argue that implementing these new technologies may force the delivery
mechanics of traditional government to change, with citizens doing more and
governments doing less.
 In the USA, social networking and social media are used by various government Workplace
agencies as an effective method for the government to get public opinion and keep the impact of social
public updated on their activity. For example, NASA has taken advantage of some
sites including Twitter and Flickr to aid the review of US Human Space Flight Plans networking
Committee. However, the government, especially in the UK, appears to have a
paradoxical view of social networking demonstrated by some agencies still resisting
full implementation. 143
Buch and Wetzel (2001) refer to this as a cultural misalignment; when there is a gap
between the two types of culture, where many artefacts and espoused values are “wish
lists”, representing a desired culture that may be quite different from the true culture.
Buch and Wetzel (2001) list three ways in which this cultural misalignment can be
repaired; tune-ups, rebuilds and replacements. In order for social networking to be
implemented at the organisational level to act as a business tool and not merely as a
marketing tool, it requires “rebuilds”. These are intermediate actions that take one to
six months to complete and often require process or system redesign, associated
approvals, and the collaboration of other organisational members which can then begin
the longer process of culture change. This would suggest that redesigning a system by
replacing current IT systems such as intranets with social networking tools, could
potentially affect espoused values and behaviours and as a consequence bring about a
change in organisational culture and branding. Lange et al. (2008) argue that by
adopting social networking technology, a new public sector management culture could
emerge, prioritising individual responsibility and changing the DNA of the public
sector. By encouraging two-way communication between the public sector and citizens
could not only bring about greater transparency but could change the culture of an
organisation.
Bernoff and Li (2008) argue that groundswell applications such as social networking
can change the culture of a company because they help weave two-way customer
communications into the fabric of an organisation. The expressive power behind
successful branding and design can no longer be ignored and although government is
beginning to realise this in the physical workspace, they have not yet fully appreciated
the importance of realising it in the virtual workspace. Realising and implementing this
will be key to how well the office workplace can position itself in the future world of
distributed work and its infinite array of choice, options and opportunity (Bell et al.,
2008).
Blogging is one of the finest examples of how a social networking tool can enhance
brand and organisational culture. Sun Microsystems’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Jonathan Schwarz argues that blogging is a matter of corporate survival. Schwarz
(2005) says:
. . . we discuss everything from business strategy to product development to company
values. . . For executives, having a blog is not going to be a matter of choice, any more than
email is today. . . Blogging lets you participate in communities you want to cultivate –
whether it’s your employees, potential employees, customers or anyone else – and leverage
your corporate culture competitively.
As the traditional distinctions between home and places in which to work become
increasingly blurred, seen already in the implementation of office games in the
workplace (Pitt and Bennett, 2008), employers will have to consider providing full and
unrestricted access to social networking sites and not simply allow access after
PM 5.30 p.m. A Chartered Management Institute (CMI) report suggests that the working
28,3 norm by 2018 will be virtual work teams operating remotely under the supervision of
managers who combine the complementary skills of older and younger workers (Bell
et al., 2008). Bell et al. (2008) go on to argue that Generation Y, people born since 1979,
will be better adapted to the new work styles and will be good social networkers.
Generation Y are already old enough to hold senior, executive and directorial positions
144 in organisations and are almost certain to be active social networkers. Fraser and Dutta
(2008) argue that the day may not be far off when top CEOs will be boasting executive
skills. Social media tools solicit and empower the best expertise and in corporate
environments where knowledge- sharing and peer collaboration are transparent and
horizontal, the power of collective intelligence will produce optimal decisions (Fraser
and Dutta, 2008). Preventing employee access to social networking sites therefore stops
employees from recognising potential business opportunities, stops collaborative
working and intelligence gathering and stops employees from developing key business
skills that can be honed in other virtual environments.

The public sector as a driver of change

Fast changing political and policy drivers and associated re-organisation and
reshuffling are what characterise much public sector work. Bell et al. (2008) argue that
civil servants have traditionally had generic, moving roles to further career
development. Therefore the ever-changing churn of employees moving around various
departments demands far more flexible and collaborative ways of working and
improved internal communication strategies to enable employees to work effectively.
Unfortunately, e-mails and intranets are no longer advanced enough to cater for this
style of work. It is imperative that public sector organisations embrace social
networking now. As unlike seasonal fashions and trends, it is here to stay.
Social networking has the power to represent a significant change in the dynamics
of the relationships between public bodies and their stakeholders, particularly citizens
and employees (Lange et al., 2008). As argued earlier, social networking can empower
employees who spend a large portion of their working life away from the office.
However, it also has the potential to empower public sector employees and change the
overall culture of the public sector by making it more transparent. Lange et al. (2008)
argue that the benefits of social networking can be classified into three broad
categories:
(1) Community. Defined as the use of social networking tools and capabilities to
interact with people who share your interests and passions – affinity networks,
friendship groups, discussion groups – about issues that might attract
considerable divergence of opinions, but centre on a core shared interest, such
as politics, rock music or mountain climbing.
(2) Collaboration. Defined as the use of social networking tools and capabilities to
connect people, expertise and resources in search of solutions that cannot be
created with any one of those ingredients alone. This could be as simple as a
technical self-help community working together to solve problems or share
information about where to find the cheapest car or best hotel.
(3) Contribution. Defined as the use of social networking tools and capabilities to
make it easier for customers or citizens to contribute their ideas, expertise,
 concerns and preferences in the process of designing new products, services or Workplace
policies. Examples include blogs on everything from politics to dog breeding or impact of social
the contribution of tangible solutions to the community in the form of services
such as open source software development. networking
Lange et al. (2008) argue that the impact of these three core social networking benefits –
community, collaboration and contribution is already being felt in three areas of the 145
public sector:
(1) Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government as an enterprise (for a
collection of enterprises).
(2) Improving the design, reach and impact of public services.
(3) Improving the quality and impact of policy making.

As Generations Y are fast becoming the core employee base within government, it is
absolutely essential that government accepts and adapts to the reality that its
workforce is largely connected to social networking sites. Utilising social networking
and the associated tools for collaborative ways of working is absolutely essential if
government want to attract and retain high performance employees. Lange et al. (2008)
argue that not adapting to these technologies and recognising the opportunities might
cause a two-pronged system to emerge: one led by “early adopters” using new tools
and techniques for collaboration: and the other by “laggards” resisting change and
sticking with tried-and-tested processes for getting things done.

Facebook Fridays
Despite the obstacle of status quo organisational cultures, Web 2.0 evangelists persist
in their belief that an imminent social revolution is about to transform corporate
bureaucracies as capitalism they argue, is now a “conversation” (Fraser and Dutta,
2008). Fraser and Dutta (2008) highlight examples of corporations which have started
to adopt social networking sites as a business tool. They point to General Motors which
use an internal blog, FastLane, as a corporate “focus group” that attracts around 5,000
daily visits, and California software company Serena, which have implemented
“Facebook Fridays” which allows employees a free hour every Friday to update their
Facebook profiles and keep in touch online with colleagues. Other global corporations
that have integrated social networking into their organisational strategies include
FedEx, Shell Oil, Motorola, General Electric, Kodak, British Telecom, Kraft Foods,
McDonald’s and Lockheed Martin (Fraser and Dutta, 2008).
This trend also is evident within education. For example, libraries have started to
implement social networking as a means to engage with students and colleagues in the
virtual environment. In their study of social networking in libraries, Graham et al.
(2009) found that common interests were discovered which helped build better
professional relationships. They also found that faculty and administrators who had
once seemed distant were humanised in a way that may not have been possible
through more traditional means (Graham et al., 2009).
The study also found that in addition to expanding on-campus networking, using
Facebook provided a vehicle to connect with other library professionals in the area and
to keep in touch with colleagues now working at different institutions (Graham et al.,
2009). Some of the key benefits that social networking provided for the library in this
PM study are generic and can be easily transferable to other organisational settings. For
28,3 example, the newsfeed feature of Facebook helps to keep friends and colleagues
updated on activities, in particular attendance and participation in professional events
can be announced and updates can be made to the personal status feature reflecting
professional development activities (Graham et al., 2009). Other studies about social
networking in libraries include exploring the cost and benefits of its implementation
146 (Mack et al., 2007) and studies about how social networking impacts on the everyday
workings of the library (Charnigo and Barnett-Ellis, 2007).

Conclusion
The importance of embracing social networking as an effective business tool is
summarised by Williamson (2009), who argues that companies need to think about
setting up a community home space featuring pictures and profiles of team members, a
discussion board, a team calendar, or a chat room. The overarching business benefits
that social networking tools can have are:
.
In the workplace, social networking tools promise to revitalise organisations by
harnessing collective intelligence.
.
Social networks, blogs, wikis, mashups and RSS feeds can facilitate networked
conversations, information-sharing and problem-solving.
.
Rigid hierarchies, corporate silos and walled-off R&D departments can be ripped
down and replaced by transparent, open-ended “crowdsourcing” strategies that
even bring customers into the collaborative dialogue.
. Power is shifting from executive C-suites to employee cubicles, from companies
to customers, from monopolists to markets.
.
The potential upside: improved morale, enhanced collective knowledge,
increased productivity, sharpened strategic focus, greater innovation. And on
the bottom line, higher profits (Fraser and Dutta, 2008).

In order for organisations to experience the unequivocal business value of social

networking tools, the traditional forms of institutional power and management
strategy has to shift to a more horizontal diffused network. This will undoubtedly lead
to increased brand reputation, a more open, transparent culture and a more effective
and efficient way of working. It is essential that employers recognise and understand
the potential of the latest innovations and make a concerted effort to incorporate them
at a strategic level. Having e-mail and a company intranet is no longer sufficient for a
twenty first century workplace. Workplace issues, problems and projects change
rapidly and employees need to be in a position to respond immediately.

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Corresponding author
Michael Pitt can be contacted at: m.r.pitt@ljmu.ac.uk

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