Public Employee Use of Social Media at Work: Competency, Collaboration, and Communication of Workplace Policy

• Author: Pananda Chansukree,Danuvas Sagarik,Wonhyuk Cho
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00910260221098737
• Published date: 01 September 2022
• Date: 01 September 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/00910260221098737

Public Personnel Management

2022, Vol. 51(3) 330 –354

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/00910260221098737

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Article

Public Employee Use of

Social Media at Work:

Competency, Collaboration,

and Communication of

Workplace Policy

Pananda Chansukree1, Danuvas Sagarik1,

and Wonhyuk Cho2

Abstract

Although the growth of social media has changed the way employees communicate

at work, our understanding of the related workplace dynamics, particularly in public

organizations, is still embryonic. This study fills these research gaps by testing

hypotheses, drawn from social cognitive theory and social capital theory, using two

sets of data on social media usage patterns and workplace practices among public

employees. Our survey data (n = 1,360) analysis revealed that most respondents

(more than 72%) spent at least an hour per day on social media while at work,

for both work- and non-work-related purposes. Furthermore, public employees

with higher levels of social media competence (technical understanding and impact

assessment) were more likely to report effective collaboration and seek assistance

when needed. The results of scenario-based randomized survey experiment (n =

600) show that the perceived fairness of social media-related termination decisions

(or “get dooced”) was influenced by the presence of an explicit workplace social

media policy.

Keywords

social media, employee behavior, public employees, survey experiment

1National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok, Thailand

2Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Corresponding Author:

Danuvas Sagarik, National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok, Thailand.

Email: danuvas.sag@nida.ac.th

1098737PPMXXX10.1177/00910260221098737Public Personnel ManagementChansukree et al.

research-article2022

Chansukree et al. 331

Introduction

Social media influences many aspects of today’s government and public sector work-

flows (Criado & Villodre, 2021; Feeney & Porumbescu, 2021). Despite the surge in

use by public organizations and their workers, there is little empirical knowledge on

its impacts on employee outcomes (Demircioglu & Chen, 2019; Tufts et al., 2015).

Although social media platforms may have the potential to improve productivity by

facilitating collaborative networks, easing access to work-related resources (Brainard

& Edlins, 2015; Criado & Villodre, 2018; Luo et al., 2018), they also raise stakeholder

concerns about civil servants’ use of digital technologies for non-work purposes, unin-

tended blending of personal and professional roles and their engagement in controver-

sial public discussions (Tufts et al., 2015).

In this regard, social media use in the public sector may introduce problems, and an

understanding of the related workplace dynamics may help formulate effective orga-

nizational strategies. Scholars have identified that social media usage outpaces our

empirical understanding (Bannister & Connolly, 2014; Zavattaro & Brainard, 2019).

The covid-19 pandemic has accelerated and institutionalized its growth, creating an

increasingly digitized “new normal” for workflows and non-work interactions (Choi

et al., 2020; Meijer & Webster, 2020). This prevalence calls for a closer look at the

relationships at play, to help design workplace policies that mitigate social media’s

risks and maximize its impact on productivity in the public sector (Franks, 2010;

Meijer & Thaens, 2013).

The literature on social media governance, while acknowledging these risks, lacks

analysis of public employees’ personal (non-work-related) and professional (work-

related) use of social media and its implications for public sector workplaces. The

extent to which social media supports employee collaboration, or informs the devel-

opment of organizational strategies is mostly unknown (Bryer & Zavattaro, 2011;

Mergel, 2017). Jacobson and Tufts (2013) suggested that governmental social media

policies lack clear steps in how employees should use social media while on- and off-

duty and are generally confusing for an employee. When an employee is terminated,

or “dooced,”1 for posting on a social media platform, the action may cause unin-

tended negative consequences in the workplace, especially if the organization’s poli-

cies on how social media tools should be used in the workplace are poorly defined or

understood (Fusi & Feeney, 2018; Pekkala & van Zoonen, 2022). Academic literature

on “doocing” has focused on its legal aspects, leaving employee perceptions

understudied.

To fill these gaps in the literature, this study tests hypotheses drawn from social

cognitive theory and social capital theory, using two sets of data on social media usage.

Study 1 (n = 1,370) focuses on individual social media use, including analysis on

general social media usage patterns (when, how, and for what purpose) in the public

sector workplace, and examines the relationship between social media competency

and resource-seeking collaborative behavior. Study 2 (n = 600) runs a scenario-based

survey experiment to test whether perceptions of the fairness of social media-related

terminations are affected by the provision and communication of formal social media