A socio-technical system perspective to exploring the negative effects of social media on work performance

Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to explore the potential negative effects of social media on employees' work performance in a stressful working environment.

Design/methodology/approach

This study model was tested using a sample of 398 social media users from China.

Findings

Structural equation modeling analysis provide support for most of the hypothesized relationships as results reveal that social stressors and technical stressors are related to exhaustion and anxiety of employees using social media. Furthermore, results reveal that exhaustion and anxiety exhibit a negative influence on employees' work performance.

Originality/value

This study extends the authors’ understanding of how social stressors and technical stressors are related to work performance. The integration of the transactional theory of stress and coping with socio-technical systems offers a holistic view to explain the phenomenon of stress in the social media context.

Citation

Cao, X., Xu, C. and Ali, A. (2024), "A socio-technical system perspective to exploring the negative effects of social media on work performance", Aslib Journal of Information Management, Vol. 76 No. 2, pp. 233-247. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-05-2022-0275