Use 5 or More Social Networks? You're a Better Employee

Hey, bosses who block employees from using social media at work: You're doing it wrong.

That's one conclusion that can be drawn from new data on the workplace by Evolv, a startup that monitors hundreds of metrics from Fortune 500 companies.

Not only has Evolv determined that hourly employees who use social networks are more productive in general, but it seems the more social networks you use, the more productive you are.

Hourly employees who regularly used up to four social networks — such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or LinkedIn — made more sales or handled customer service calls faster than those who weren't on any social networks.

They also tend to stick around for longer (94 days of tenure with a company on average, compared to 83 days for those who shun social media).

Those who use five social networks or more are slightly better at converting sales and handling customer service than employees on four or fewer networks, by 1.5% and 2.8% respectively. Their average tenure is a little lower at 92 days — possibly because they're more in demand.

So should we conclude that more social media make you better at your job? Not necessarily. As the folks at Evolv point out, it could just be a leading indicator of your computer literacy.

The network score may also just be an indicator of your sociability: if you're more of a people person, you're going to be better at sales and more willing to resolve complaints to a customer's satisfaction.

But one thing this data does tell us: Your managers have less of a reason to block you from visiting Facebook than they might think.

Does your social media usage have any connection to your productivity? Let us know in the comments.

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