Should HR managers allow employees to use social media at work? Behavioral and motivational outcomes of employee blogging

There is a dilemma for HR executives concerning social media policies: Should HR managers allow employees to use social media while at work? The question has no easy answer because there are conflicting views on the matter. However, the conflicting views can be resolved if we focus on the individuals with whom an employee interacts through social media. Building on data on the blogging activity of 269 employees working for a Canadian health-care provider, the paper reveals a new problem: The extent to which employees engage in personal blogging with outsiders – individuals who do not work for the organization – is negatively related to intrinsic work motivation and to proactive behavior. After having introduced the problem, the paper shows a solution. If employees engage in blogging with coworkers, the negative effects turn positive: Blogging with coworkers positively affects intrinsic work motivation and proactive behavior. Finally, the paper offers a recommendation for HR managers to leverage the solution. Through social job design and increasing formal interaction requirements, HR executives can reinforce the association between social media use and blogging with coworkers. Overall, the paper helps HR executives to clarify the outcomes of social media, find a problem, suggest a solution, and recommend how to achieve it.