Impact of Using Social Media Networks on Individual Work-Related Outcomes

Abstract

This paper aims to determine the effects of using social networks on work-related outcomes. Observed work-related outcomes are job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work performance. The moderating effects of gender and age of respondents on the given relations were also observed. In addition, this paper aims to consider the theoretical and practical implications of such research. The research was conducted in West Balkan countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Respondents were employed in organizations in these countries and 313 complete questionnaires were collected. The number of social media networks and somewhat frequency of social media networks usage and the number of photos has a positive effect on individual outcomes of employed persons. Daily time usage, frequency of posting photos, number of groups, and number of groups (active participant) have negative effects on individual outcomes of employed persons. Prolonged use of social media networks (during the day) can especially reduce job satisfaction while joining a large number of groups severely jeopardizes organizational commitment. Active participation in a number of groups significantly reduces salary satisfaction and organizational loyalty among male employees. Excessive use of social media network sites and frequent posting of images can reduce satisfaction with the nature of work and work performance among older employees. The discovered connections and influences have scientific and practical significance, which is explained in the paper.