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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 11, No. 2.2
Publication Date: February 25, 2024
DOI:10.14738/assrj.112.2.16408.
Sulaiman, S. A., Zaman, M. D. K., Abdul Halim, H. S., Ismail, N. I. H., Ariffin, N. I., Zamzuri, N. N. I. N. A., Adam, S. S., & Khalid, A. N.
A. (2024). A Study on the Impacts of Social Media Towards Job Performance Among Lecturers in UiTM Shah Alam. Advances in
Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(2.2). 380-395.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
A Study on the Impacts of Social Media Towards Job Performance
Among Lecturers in UiTM Shah Alam
Syahida Aqilah Sulaiman
syahidaaaqilahh@gmail.com
Universiti Teknologi Mara, Puncak Alam, Malaysia
Maliza Delima Kamarul Zaman
*Corresponding author: malizadelima@uitm.edu.my
Universiti Teknologi Mara, Puncak Alam, Malaysia
Haney Shafira Abdul Halim
haney.shafira@edgenta.com
Universiti Teknologi Mara, Puncak Alam, Malaysia
Nur Irdina Hanani Ismail
ananinurirdina@gmail.com
Universiti Teknologi Mara, Puncak Alam, Malaysia
Nur Ismah Ariffin
ismahariffin176@gmail.com
Universiti Teknologi Mara, Puncak Alam, Malaysia
Nik Nurul Izzah Nik Ahmad Zamzuri
niknurulizzahnaz@yahoo.com
Universiti Teknologi Mara, Puncak Alam, Malaysia
Syafiqah Subaihah Mohd Adam
syafiqahsubaihah@gmail.com
Universiti Teknologi Mara, Puncak Alam, Malaysia
Adam Nur Alif Mohd Khalid
adamnur5039@gmail.com
Universiti Teknologi Mara, Puncak Alam, Malaysia
ABSTRACT
The widespread adoption of social media platforms has significantly transformed
the way individuals communicate, interact, and share information. The existing
research is limited in terms of industry representation and organizational levels,
leaving a gap in our understanding of how social media usage affects different
dimensions of job performance. The objective of the study was to examine the
impact of social media on employees’ job performance in education sector. The aim
was to provide insights for organizations to develop effective strategies and policies
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Sulaiman, S. A., Zaman, M. D. K., Abdul Halim, H. S., Ismail, N. I. H., Ariffin, N. I., Zamzuri, N. N. I. N. A., Adam, S. S., & Khalid, A. N. A. (2024). A Study
on the Impacts of Social Media Towards Job Performance Among Lecturers in UiTM Shah Alam. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal,
11(2.2). 380-395.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.112.2.16408
regarding social media usage in the workplace. The study was carried out among
lecturers from the Faculty of Business and Management (FBM), Universiti Teknologi
MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam with 66 responses. The sampling technique used was
stratified sampling from Department of Economics and Financial Studies.
Questionnaire was developed based on a 5-point Likert scale and reliability
analysis accepted Cronbach’s Alpha more than 0.7. Based on the findings, all factors
namely: (i) work-related use (ii) social-related use, (iii) synchronicity, (iv)
dialogism, (v) richness, and (vi) mobility were correlated with job performance and
only synchronicity and richness were the most significant factors influencing
lecturers’ job performance. These highlighted that synchronization needed
between people to work together and collaborate while richness represented by the
need of understanding and the meaning shared in the organizations to perform a
better job.
Keywords: social media, Job Performance, Lecturers, Synchronicity, Dialogism.
INTRODUCTION
Introduction and Background
Social media is a collection of applications powered by the internet which rely on the
technological and ideological pillars of Web 2.0. [1]. Social media offers social network persona
to its users, which allows them to make as well as share user-generated content without regard
for time or space limitations [2]. The introduction of social media has transformed global
communication and networking. In the present day, social media applications such as Twitter,
Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, serve an important role within human interaction inside
organisations. Employees make use internet-based applications within the workplace for the
purpose to enhance operational efficiency. Social media usage can be broken down into three
distinct groups. For starters, people use social media to socialise as well as to improve
relationships between friends, relatives, and co-workers. The following category is hedonic use,
in which people use social media to satisfy their affective needs for pleasure and emotional
experiences. The final category of use is cognitive use, which involves using social media to
meet one's needs by freely seeking out knowledge and information [3].
As reported by [3], out of the world's 7.98 billion people, referring to the most recent the United
Nations figures, 5 billion are connected through the Internet, or 63%, with 92.4% using their
phone to get online. However, this figure is lower than it was in 2021. An average Internet user
spends six hours and 53 minutes online daily. In accordance to the study, the 6 most popular
type of Internet sites and applications are chat and messaging services, which were used by
95.7% of users, and social networks were used by 95.2%. According to the Semrush ranking in
June 2023, Google is the most visited website, followed by YouTube and Facebook. For 54.7%
of 16-64 years old, keeping in touch with friends and family is the second most common reason
for using the internet. However, 60.2% of respondents chose "finding information" as the most
important reason. Considering the prior discussions, it really matters to look into the fact that
it is possible that social media use is able to improve employees' job performance.
[5] discovered the fact that social media use by employees in an organization contributes to
improved job performance via the mediation role of job satisfaction, which is one of the most
important studies that supported the significant role of using social media at the workplace in
improving workers' job performance. Several higher education leaders implement educators’
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 11, Issue 2.2, February-2024
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
workshops and trainings designed for utilising social media sources as teaching tools,
particularly Facebook [6]. Several researchers, on the contrary, claim that social media use at
work has a negative impact on employees’ performance [7]. They claim that excessive use of
social media at work can result in addiction, time waste, a lack of positive emotions, poor health,
and poor performance [8]. According to [9], the utilisation of social media influences both
positively and negatively. It can also cause technology-work conflict and strain, both of which
harm job performance. Ultimately, it was clear that the debate over the impact of social media
use has yet to be resolved [8]. Therefore, this study proposed to investigate the influence such
as (i) work-related use (ii) social-related use, (iii) synchronicity, (iv) dialogism, (v) richness,
and (vi) mobility, towards job performance among lecturers. With the literatures reviewed, the
following research questions and research objectives were developed: The research questions
of this study were as follows:
➢ RQ1: Is there any relationship between work-related use and job performance?
➢ RQ2: Is there any relationship between status social-related use and job performance?
➢ RQ3: Is there any relationship between synchronicity and job performance?
➢ RQ4: Is there any relationship between dialogism and job performance?
➢ RQ5: Is there any relationship between richness and job performance?
➢ RQ6: Is there any relationship between mobility and job performance?
➢ RQ7: What are the most significant factors of social media that influence job
performance among lecturers in Department of Economics and Financial studies in
UiTM Shah Alam?
The objectives of this study are as follows:
➢ RO1: To examine the relationship between work-related use and job performance.
➢ RO2: To examine the relationship between status social-related use and job
performance.
➢ RO3: To examine the relationship between synchronicity and job performance.
➢ RO4: To examine the relationship between dialogism and job performance.
➢ RO5: To examine the relationship between richness and job performance.
➢ RO6: To examine the relationship between mobility and job performance.
➢ RO7: To examine the most significant factors influencing job performance.
Scope of the Study
The scope of the study is limited to lecturers from UiTM, Shah Alam. However, in accordance
with the proportionate stratified sampling technique used, the study is aimed at lecturers from
Department of Economics and Financial Studies only.
Significant of the Study
It is important to study the impacts of social media towards job performance. The findings of
this study can benefit the organization by contributing to a better understanding of the impacts
of social media. The study sought to learn how employees' use of social media affects their
overall job performance and subsequent contributions to the organizations for which they
work. According to past studies, employees who effectively use social media platforms for
information sharing, collaboration, and networking perform better on the job. For example, by
finding out which factors that are of the highest significance towards job performance, allows
organizations to develop focused performance improvement strategies. By addressing the key
impacts, organizations can implement initiatives, processes, and interventions that directly
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Sulaiman, S. A., Zaman, M. D. K., Abdul Halim, H. S., Ismail, N. I. H., Ariffin, N. I., Zamzuri, N. N. I. N. A., Adam, S. S., & Khalid, A. N. A. (2024). A Study
on the Impacts of Social Media Towards Job Performance Among Lecturers in UiTM Shah Alam. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal,
11(2.2). 380-395.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.112.2.16408
target the areas critical for enhancing job performance, leading to better outcomes and overall
organizational success. Therefore, such contribution must be appreciated and fully utilized to
benefit the society as a whole. From a business perspective, it is imperative to formulate and
implement strategies to maximise employees’ job performance.
The findings of this study will benefit several functions of the conventional managerial
department by providing them the correlation and significance of the impact that influence job
performance, which can further compliment their current understanding of employees. For
example, if one of the impacts that carries the highest significance is work-related use.
Managerial department will be able to develop their very own internal social media by knowing
that social media serves as an information repository to help employees find experts in the
organization. By knowing where to obtain expertise can help employees solve difficult
problems at hand and produce high-quality work. The findings of this study have a far-reaching
implication for the academic community, educational institutions, as well as policymakers.
Educational institutions can develop informed guidelines and policies on social media use for
academic purposes by obtaining insights into the effects of social media on lecturers' job
performance. Furthermore, the research will shed light on efficient methods for lecturers to use
social media platforms for professional development and collaboration.
On top of that, the findings will assist in developing greater awareness of the impact of social
media on professional performance in fields other than academia. As social media continues to
influence the way professionals communicate and distribute information, this study can
provide valuable insights and best practises for optimising social media use while reducing
potential drawbacks.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Job Performance
Job performance is defined as the total expected value to the organization of discrete
behavioural episodes carried out by an individual over a set period of time [10]. Therefore, by
this definition, the performance construct is a variable that differentiates between sets of
behaviours performed by different individuals and sets of behaviours performed by the same
individual at different times. The differentiation depends on the degree to which the sets of
behaviours are likely to contribute to or detract from organisational effectiveness. In a nutshell,
variation in performance is variation in the expected organisational value of behaviour. The
application of social media in everyday life, such as social networking sites and instant
messaging, is growing, especially the use of social media in the workplace. [11] looked on to
examine how using social media sites like Facebook and KakaoTalk at work influences
individual job performance. They investigated whether social media use affects individual job
performance differently depending on the characteristics of the given task. According to the
findings, both Facebook and KakaoTalk had a linearly positive effect on individual job
performance. Furthermore, task ambiguity acted as a positive moderator in the relationship
between KakaoTalk use and job performance. The findings could have far-reaching
implications for companies reviewing their social media policies, considering that using social
media in the workplace, such as Facebook and KakaoTalk enhances job performance.
Companies may want to encourage employees to use it and in particular, consider assisting
employees who perform tasks with high task ambiguity in using instant messaging platforms.
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 11, Issue 2.2, February-2024
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Work-Related Use
Work-related social media usage is referred to be using social media to discuss work with
coworkers or to share document and file information within the organisation [12]. In
businesses, social media could be used for either social or business-related purposes [13].
WeChat and other social media platforms were widely used for business purposes in Chinese
enterprises [14]. Apps like Line and Facebook Messenger are commonly used in the workplace
in Taiwan. [15] classified employee social media needs into two categories: work-related and
social related. Employees frequently engage with social media in the workplace for both work
and social purposes [16]. Work-related activities include exchanging views and advice, as well
as reading work-related posts, whereas social activities include developing and maintaining
relationships with colleagues. More importantly, while employees may use social media for
work-related purposes, the social aspects of their use may be diminished, and vice versa. In
summary, social media is undergoing a radical transformation, and organisations are
incorporating it into their business processes. The use of social media in the workplace can
vary, but the goal is to create and share social networks. The use of social media in the
workplace is unavoidable, thus management in organisations should find ways to maximise the
benefits of its use in business processes. The research study [17] highlights the impact of social
media on employees’ job performance. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to
analyse 238 responses. According to the findings, social media usage is highly correlated with
employees’ job performance [17].
In terms of the relationship between social media use and work performance, research
indicates that work-related social media use can improve the quality of communication and
information exchange among employees, which in turn improves their work productivity and
performance [18]. This is because work-related social media platforms enable employees to
communicate and collaborate with one another in a timely and efficient manner. It enables real- time messaging, group discussions, and file sharing, eliminating the need for lengthy email
chains and encouraging instant information exchange. This improved communication can
result in faster decision-making, faster problem-solving, and overall increased efficiency.
Social-Related Use
The use of social media to establish new social relationships, such as making new friends,
discovering individuals with common interests, as well as maintain contact with existing
friends and customers, has been defined specifically [12]. Through the increased use of social
networking sites both during and outside of work hours, it seems acceptable to wonder
whether and why this use has an impact on job performance. In research conducted by [19] the
technology acceptance model and the theory of positive emotions are used to develop an
extended theoretical model centered on social networking site use. It emphasizes use, but not
excessive use, because the study recognise that social networking site addiction can have
negative consequences. The model takes into account predictors of social networking site use
as well as organisational effects of this use, such as its impact on job performance. The study
had gathered and analysed data from 178 Facebook users to run an initial test of the model.
Since the study looked at Facebook use in general, both during and outside of work hours, the
results take into account the presence of policies restricting social networking site use at work.
The analysis made use of factor-based structural equation modelling with the WarpPLS
software. The findings propose that positive emotions associated with the use of social
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Sulaiman, S. A., Zaman, M. D. K., Abdul Halim, H. S., Ismail, N. I. H., Ariffin, N. I., Zamzuri, N. N. I. N. A., Adam, S. S., & Khalid, A. N. A. (2024). A Study
on the Impacts of Social Media Towards Job Performance Among Lecturers in UiTM Shah Alam. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal,
11(2.2). 380-395.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.112.2.16408
networking sites are associated with higher job performance in terms of increased job
satisfaction and organisational commitment [19].
The COVID-19 pandemic, which started about four years ago, has had a significant impact on
many aspects of our lives, including how we work and interact with others. With the
widespread adoptions of remote work, organisations and employees have sought alternative
ways to stay connected and collaborate in a virtual environment. During this time, social media
platforms were critical in maintaining social connections among employees and teams.
Synchronicity
[20] proposed Media Synchronicity Theory (MST), which identified that synchronisation
existed between people when they work together. According to Media Synchronicity Theory,
five objectives’ capabilities can influence synchronization: transmission speed, parallel
processing, symbol diversity, rehearsal, and re-processing. First of all, synchronicity have long
been recognised as important aspects of computer mediated communication [21]. Researchers
agree the fact that interactivity should allow for a two-way exchange of information and that
this exchange should occur quickly. In other words, when one communicator sends
information, they should receive it immediately [22]. The degree to which employees
collaborate with a common goal is referred to as synchronicity [24]. Social media synchronicity
enables users to gain immediate input from others, which closely resembles face-to-face
interpersonal communication in which speaking and hearing occur simultaneously.
Furthermore, when users are typing or revising a message in most social media systems, a
special moving icon appears in real time. This real-time chat style makes social media
communication more like face-to-face communication.
According to media synchronicity theory by [28], communication will be improved if the chosen
media supports synchronicity because a response that occurs with the least amount of delay is
thought to help increase interpersonal interactivity. Employees can communicate information
quickly to complete a task or reach members who may be unavailable through other media due
to the synchronicity of social media interactivity. When prompt responses are expected,
employees are more likely to engage in active and open communication. As a result of
synchronicity, social media is an effective tool for organisational communication which will
lead to increased employees’ job performance. Furthermore, the synchronicity of social media
communication gives employees the impression that others are present, which encourages
communication.
Dialogism
Dialogism defines the concept of dialogic communication, which has long been recognised as
an important component of interactivity [21]. As a result of this conversation design, every
previous message becomes a part of the conversation and the frame of reference for the entire
conversation. It has additionally been looked into under different categories, including
reciprocity dialogic communication [24]. As a result of this conversation design, every previous
message becomes a part of the conversation and the frame of reference for the entire
conversation. In contrast to reactive communication, which is very specific and ends the
interaction, dialogic communication is more interactive and encourages the continuation of the
conversation. Dialogic communication also makes users feel more intimate when