To share or not to share : Facebook’s impact on co-worker relationships.

AUTHORS: Beatrice Isaksson and Zanna Nyman TITLE: To share or not to share – Facebook’s impact on co-worker relationships. SWEDISH TITLE: Att dela eller icke dela – Facebooks påverkan på ko­ll­e­gors relationer LEVEL: BA Thesis in Media and Communication Science LANGUAGE: Swedish NUMBER OF PAGES: 64 PURPOSE: This study will aim to contribute to the improvement of knowledge in the field of media and communication science, related to how Facebook affects co-worker relationships in Swedish organisations. METHODOLOGY: This study will use surveys to measure the attitudes of employees who use Facebook in three different organisations and look at how this influences their working relationships. FINDINGS: The findings in this study support the idea that Facebook does have an effect on co-worker relationships. The research undertaken shows that Facebook causes increased levels of annoyance amongst employees. However, despite this; if used in a respectful manner, co-workers that have colleagues as Facebook friends can in fact strengthen their working relationship. RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS: The variables in this study are self-reported. This means they are subject to the normal limitations of cross-sectional survey research. PRACTICAL IMPLICATION: This study will help organisations to improve their understanding of the influence Facebook has on their employees. This research can be used as guidance on the proper use of Facebook, which should help to minimise the levels of annoyance amongst employees and strengthen their working relationships. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: No research on this issue has been undertaken in Sweden before and so this study aims to alert organisations and provide them with the appropriate knowledge of how communication over social media impacts the relationships between their employees. PROGRAM: The Program for Information and Communication studies. LOCATION: Linnaeus University, Växjö DATE OF SUBMISSION: 2016-06-10 ASSESSOR: Eva Lundberg KEYWORDS: Co-worker relationship ∙ Social media ∙ Facebook ∙ Organisational researc