CYBERPSYCHOLOGY, BEHAVIOR, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING Volume 16, Number 2, 2013 a Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2012.0321
How Facebook Might Reveal Users’ Attitudes Toward Work and Relationships with Coworkers
Hui-Tzu Grace Chou, PhD, Ron J. Hammond, PhD, and Roberta Johnson, BS
Abstract
With the spread of Facebook among people in many countries, some companies have started using applicants’ Facebook profiles as a criterion of personnel selection, in an effort to identify good workers among job appli- cants. However, how using Facebook is connected to individuals’ relationships with coworkers and work attitudes is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between using Facebook, rela- tionships with coworkers, and some attitudes toward the current job. Undergraduate students at a state uni- versity in Utah were randomly chosen to participate in an online survey between April and May 2012. The results of a multivariate analysis, based on 516 currently employed respondents, revealed several findings. First, those more involved in using Facebook—often assumed as more people-oriented individuals—do not have better relationships with their coworkers than their counterparts. Second, those with more Facebook friends care less about their work performance than those with fewer Facebook friends. Third, those frequently update their Facebook profile like their current job less, and are more likely to think about changing their jobs, compared with those updating their Facebook profile less often. Although Facebook friendship usually begins with offline friendship, this research found that offline interaction with friends has a different impact on work attitudes than online interaction: Those spending more time with friends offline like their jobs more and are less likely to think about changing jobs. Implications are discussed.
Introduction and Literature Review
With the spread of Facebook among people in many countries, some companies have started using appli- cants’ Facebook profile in the personnel selection process.1 Viewing applicants’ Facebook profiles might provide a glimpse into some of their characteristics,2 such as whether they are extraverted or introverted,3–5 whether they have harmonious social relationships with others, or whether they are following social norms. However, whether using Face- book is connected to the quality of relationships with co- workers and attitudes toward work is unclear. The purpose of this research was to shed light on this increasingly popu- lar HR practice, to find out whether those more involved in using Facebook have better relationships with their cowork- ers and care more about their work performance and like their jobs more, compared with those less involved.
One of the most important functions of Facebook is to help users get connected with people, either to strengthen already- established friendships or to develop new ones.6–8 Research has found that Facebook is a part of the social glue that helps students settle into the university life, and students can use Facebook as a means of making new friends at their university.9 Previous research has shown that online social communication is positively associated with face-to-face inter- action, and that the frequency and intimacy of Internet social communication parallel the sociability and frequency of tra- ditional social interaction.10 When comparing users of social networking sites with nonusers, it is found that users keep in touch with more people than nonusers.11 Therefore, it is an- ticipated that those more involved in using Facebook like to get connected with people, and thus have better relationships with their coworkers than those less involved in using Face- book. The first hypothesis is formulated as follows:
Hypothesis 1: Those more involved in using Facebook will have better relationships with coworkers than those less involved.
Facebook also might also affect attitudes toward work in other ways. According to the displacement hypothesis, when individuals put more effort into one activity, they usually have fewer resources for other tasks, since people are very unlikely to have unlimited time, energy, or cognitive re- sources.12,13 Research has found that, for example, the time spent on Facebook is negatively related to overall GPA among college students.14 Following the same line of
Department of Behavioral Science, Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah.
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FACEBOOK AND WORK ATTITUDES
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argument, when individuals care about Facebook more, they might care about their work performance less. Furthermore, research has found that those low in conscientiousness are more likely to use social networking sites.4,5 Therefore, it is anticipated that those more involved in using Facebook will care less about their work performance than those less involved in using Facebook. The following hypothesis is formulated:
Hypothesis 2: Those more involved in using Facebook will care about the work performance less than those less involved.
Previous research has found that Facebook users tend to use certain techniques to portray positive images of them- selves,15–20 and that those more involved in using Facebook are more likely to perceive that others are happier and having better lives than themselves.21 Following the arguments and findings of previous research, it can be assumed that Face- book users are more likely to post positive information about their jobs—such as promotions, celebrations, or changing to a better job—than negative information, such as having job-related challenges. Because Facebook facilitates social com- parisons, a sense of relative deprivation might arise. Therefore, it is anticipated that those more involved in using Facebook might like their current job less, and be more likely to think about changing to another job, compared with those less in- volved in using Facebook. Two hypotheses are thus formulated:
Hypothesis 3: Those more involved in using Facebook will like their jobs less than their counterparts.
Hypothesis 4: Those more involved in using Facebook are more likely to think about changing jobs.
Data Collection
Participants
An online questionnaire was sent to undergraduate stu- dents at a state university in Utah through the university’s Institutional Research Department in April and May 2012. Eight thousand students enrolled in the Fall 2011 were ran- domly chosen to participate in this research, and 1,059 of them responded to the survey. Ninety-five percent of re- spondents had ever used Facebook, and 516 of the respon- dents were employed at the time of the survey. Since the focus of this research is workers’ attitudes toward the current job, those who were not employed at the time of the survey were not included in the data analysis.
Among these currently employed respondents, 36.3 per- cent worked 40 hours or more per week, and 30.3 percent worked 20 hours or less per week. Regarding the distribution of gender and age, 39 percent of respondents were men, and 54.9 percent of respondents were 25 years old or younger. The ethnic composition of the sample was similar to the distri- bution of the university, and the majority of respondents (84.3 percent) were White.
Measures
Four dependent variables were measured on a five-point Likert scale. Respondents were asked to rate how strongly they agreed with the following statements regarding their current job, with 1 indicating strongly disagree and 5 indi- cating strongly agree: I have a great relationship with my colleagues/coworkers (mean = 4.03, standard deviation = 0.82); I deeply care about my work performance (mean = 4.20, standard deviation = 0.83); I really like the job
(mean = 3.58, standard deviation = 1.15); and I am thinking about changing jobs (mean = 3.23, standard deviation = 1.25).
The use of Facebook was measured by five questions: How many years have you been using Facebook? (mean = 3.63, standard deviation=1.55); About how often do you update your Facebook? (1 indicated seldom update; 2, several times a year; 3, several times a month; 4, once a week; 5, 2–3 times a week; and 6, almost every day. The mean is 3.12, and the standard deviation is 1.66); How many hours do you spend on Facebook each week? (mean = 4.67, standard devi- ation=5.47); How many friends do you currently have on Facebook? (mean=339.07, standard deviation=568.88); and How many coworkers do you currently have on Facebook?
(mean = 17.61, standard deviation = 45.51).
Several variables were controlled in this research: Hours spent with friends offline (1 indicated never; 2, 1–3 hours; 3, 4–6 hours; and 4, 7 hours or more. The mean is 2.63, and the standard deviation is 0.95), years worked on the current job (the mean is 3.45, and the standard deviation is 4.57), annual salary (1 indicated $20,000 or less; 2, between $20,001 and $40,000; 3, between $40,001 and $60,000; 4, between $60,001 and $80,000; and 5, $80,001 or above. The mean is 1.60, and the standard deviation is 0.96); number of hours working per week (mean = 30.84, standard deviation = 12.81), religious service attendance (measured by the question, How much would you agree with the following statement: I attend reli- gious service every week? 1 indicated strongly disagree, and 5 indicated strongly agree. The mean is 3.67, and the standard deviation is 1.53), gender (described previously), and age (mean is 28.01 and standard deviation is 8.96).
Data analysis
Since the dependent variables were measured with a five- point Likert scale, multiple regression analyses were used to examine the association between using Facebook and some attitudes toward work. We found that none of the five per- cent of participants reporting never having used Facebook before answered the question on hours spent with friends offline each week, probably because this question was asked right after the experience of using Facebook. Therefore, these participants were not included in the multiple regression analyses. Results of the multiple regression analyses are presented in Table 1. Contrary to the first hypothesis, using Facebook showed no impact on having good relationships with coworkers. Those who constantly updated their Face- book, spent longer hours on Facebook, or had more Facebook friends did not appear to have better relationships with people at work. In contrast, as predicted in hypotheses 2, 3, and 4, using Facebook was negatively related to some aspects of work attitude: Those with more Facebook friends were less likely to care about their work performance (b = - 0.11, p