The use of social media is widespread in the UK, with an estimated 56 million users across the country.
But how many of us are scrolling social media at work, why are we doing it, how do employers feel about it, and what are the impacts on the workplace?
To find the answers to these questions and more, we surveyed 932 British workers to ask them about their social media use at work.
Key social media at work stats
- 92% of UK workers use social media whilst at work
- Brits spend an average of 1 hour and 17 minutes per day on social media at work
- Millennials are the most active users of social media in the workplace
- Just 5% of people use social media exclusively for work-related purposes
- 1 in 10 people use social media to look for jobs whilst at work
- 79% of workers user social media for habitually checking feeds
- Social media use at work costs the British economy an estimated £14 billion per year
How many people use social media at work in the UK?
Of the workers we surveyed, 92% of people say that they use social media whilst at work, in some capacity. This could mean that they use it for work or non-work purposes.
This is perhaps unsurprising in today’s digital age where the average person has 7 social accounts that they actively use. [1]
Who uses social media at work?
Which people are most likely to be found using social media at work?
Age
Millennials are the most active users of social media at work with 96% of them using it regularly, shortly followed by Gen Z workers at 95%.
The least active age group of social media users at work are Boomers with 69% logging on in the workplace.
Job type
Workers in back office jobs such as administrators and IT workers have the highest rate of social media use at work with 95% of them doing so, and in customer facing roles only around 1 in 4 people use social media at work.
Job seniority
When it comes to job seniority, junior workers are less likely to use social media at work (with 3 in 4 using it regularly) than their senior counterparts.
This could possibly be due to employer restrictions being placed on junior staff, or the fear of being caught out by their bosses.
| Job seniority | Percentage of workers using social media at work |
|---|---|
| Entry level | 75% |
| Mid-level | 92% |
| Management | 87% |
Income level
Only 2 in 5 people who earn less than £25k per year use social media at work, which is a significantly lower rate than their higher-earning counterparts.
| Worker salary | Perentage using social media at work |
|---|---|
| Less than £25k | 41% |
| £25k - £40k | 85% |
| £40k – 60k | 95% |
| £60k – £80k | 96% |
| £80k + - | 93% |
How long do people spend on social media at work?
British workers spend an average of 1 hour and 17 minutes per day using social media during work hours.
Around 1 in 10 workers spend more than 4 hours on social media.
| Length of time spent on social media during work hours | Percentage of workers |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 hour | 32% |
| 1-2 hours | 55% |
| 3-4 hours | 27% |
| Over 4 hours | 12% |
Why do people use social media at work?
We asked people to provide the top 3 reasons they use social media at work for, and the most common was the “habitual checking of feeds” with 79% of respondents admitting to this.
Only a third of social media users are using the platforms to message friends and family, whilst 1 in 10 people use social media to look for jobs whilst at work.
| Reasons for using social media at work | Percentage of respondents |
|---|---|
| Habitual feed checking | 79% |
| Looking at content (videos, photos) | 67% |
| Reading or watching news content | 65% |
| Work purposes (networking, posting content etc.) | 49% |
| Work-related learning (industry news etc.) | 40% |
| Messaging friends and family | 33% |
| Look for new jobs | 21% |
Are workers using social media for work or leisure?
When looking at a split of work versus leisure uses of social media, we see that 71% of social media users are utilising the platforms for both work and leisure, 24% use them for leisure only, and just 5% use them exclusively for work purposes.
What work functions do people use social media for?
Of the people who use social media for work purposes, the most popular reason for doing so is connecting with potential clients, with 77% of people citing this as their most important social-media work task.
| Work purposes for using social media | Percentage of respondents |
|---|---|
| Connecting with potential clients | 77% |
| Recruitment activities (posting jobs, searching for candidates etc.) | 61% |
| Marketing activities (posting content, commenting etc.) | 58% |
| Due diligence (Checking supplier credentials etc.) | 35% |
| Updating profile information | 20% |
Which social media platforms do people use at work?
Facebook is the most commonly used social media platform at work in the UK with 8 out of 10 workers browsing the platform during work hours, closely followed by LinkedIn (72%) and Instagram (63%).
Respondents were asked to provide the 3 platforms they use the most whilst at work.
Do employers want people using social media at work?
Just over half of UK workers (52%) say that their employer has a company policy in place to restrict the use of personal social media use during work hours.
Effects of social media distraction at work
HR Magazine reported that social media scrolling at work costs the British economy an estimated £14 billion per year. [2]
According to an article published on LinkedIn by William Treseder, every time somebody is distracted by social media at work, it costs their employer an average of $8.69 (£6.83). [3]
Do companies use social media to recruit?
Data from Glassdoor shows that 91% of employers are currently using social media to recruit candidates for job openings. [4]
Methodology
To collect the above information, we surveyed 932 people between the ages of 18-64 who are currently working full-time within the UK.
Respondents came from a mixture of industries, professions and income levels.
We also found supporting information from the sources below.
Sources
[1] Backlinko – Social Media Usage & Growth Statistics: https://backlinko.com/social-media-users
[2] HR Magazine – Employees accessing their social media profiles at work costs companies 14 billion a year: https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/news/employees-accessing-their-social-media-profiles-at-work-costs-companies-14-billion-a-year/
[3] LinkedIn – Social Media Cost Employers Billions in Lost Productivity: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140915221534-21875070-social-media-cost-employers-billions-in-lost-productivity/
[4] Glassdoor – Surveys Employers on Recruiting Challenges: https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/informed-candidate-survey/