Humans need social connections—both physical and digital—to thrive.
While the desired frequency and intensity of social interactions vary between individuals, the sudden absence of social contact—as experienced during the pandemic—can take a major toll on mental and emotional wellbeing.
According to the latest Social Media Usage report from Pew Research Center, a majority of individuals rely on social media platforms to find and connect with others every day—for some, it’s even part of their jobs. These social relationships have proven to be just as effective as in-person relationships at managing stress, anxiety, and depression; boosting self-worth; and preventing loneliness, especially during times of turmoil.
But without moderation, social media usage can invoke the same polarized feelings of overstimulation and isolation as imbalanced in-person relationships. In the workplace, this can lead to employees feeling disengaged, uninterested in career development, and incredibly burned out.
With social media being a permanent staple of personal and professional connections, the onus is on employers to understand how social media affects employee mental health and offer effective solutions that set workforces up for success.
The impact of social media on wellbeing has been two-fold since its inception and subsequent ubiquity.
Research shows that, despite face-to-face social interactions being the legacy gold standard of social connection, nearly one in four individuals claim that their most recent meaningful social interactions happened on a social media platform.
What’s more—those same interactions were found to be just as meaningful as in-person interactions. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the long-term benefits of these meaningful interactions are integral to improving mental wellbeing, often leading to longer, happier, and healthier lifespans.
Conversely, the increased adoption of technology has also led to a unique form of stress that researchers call “technostress.” This is thought to be caused in large part by an individual’s inability to cope or an over-identification with technology.
Either form of technostress can be the source of mental and physical issues, including:
Research also highlights social media’s impact on depression and anxiety and how it may instill feelings of FOMO (fear of missing out), negative habits of social comparison, and even disruptions in sleep quality.
In addition to experiencing depressive symptoms from imbalanced social media use, individuals also typically experience:
When considering the positive and negative effects of workplace social media use, how can employers foster a culture of productivity and wellbeing without disregarding the positive effect that social media can have on employees?
There are several ways in which employers can enact meaningful policies and practices regarding social network usage at work. Here are a few places to start when building social media into your unique culture.
Equitably supporting employee mental health can be challenging—especially when something as pervasive as social media can have major effects on wellbeing.
Employers and managers have a responsibility to facilitate the health and happiness of employees by building and maintaining a culture of wellbeing. Starting on that path is often the hardest part.
That’s why we’ve developed a downloadable guide for managers that aims to inform and awaken positive change in the workplace through active and empathetic management.