Do employers ‘Like’ social media? (infographic)

12 Jun 2012

The rise and rise of social media has led some companies to create and implement policies on its usage by employees, with some organisations being more permissive about it and others less so. A new infographic takes a look at which industries are leading the way regarding the use of social media.

While companies like the idea of using social media for brand promotion, they are hesitant about letting their employees loose on Twitter, Facebook and the like, the infographic designed by Shaun Sanders and published on Visual.ly reveals.

The reason for companies’ hesitancy is because anything can happen instantly, and potentially in front of a large audience. However, most (53pc) of employers have a formal policy on the use of social media, with the retail industry leading the way at 65pc.

Most media companies (59pc) encourage their employees to use social media, whereas 71pc of energy companies have put the kibosh on any kind of social media use at work.

The infographic also takes a look at social recruiting, showing that more than 80pc of employers who use social media for recruiting use LinkedIn. When it comes to actual industries, wholesale trade is the least likely (at 36pc) to use social media for recruiting.

In terms of employees themselves, two out of five Gen Y employees would rather have access to social media on the job than a higher salary, and more than half of workers ages 55 and older use social media at work on a daily basis.

Image of social media by Shutterstock

employers and social media

Tina Costanza was a journalist and sub-editor at Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com