Social media use in HR management; rule making, rule breaking and workarounds: a sociomaterial view

Employees use alternative tools and technologies to modify existing routines such that shortcomings in organisational processes can be overcome by deviating from prescribed procedures. These practices are referred to as “workarounds” and present a recognised yet under-researched phenomenon. Our study investigates how employees use social media as tools for compensating for shortcomings of existing information technologies and the effects of these workarounds on the strength of the HR communication process. We present a multiple case study to demonstrate workarounds in large UK organisations and to describes the intended outcomes and undesired side-effects. We further suggest an extension to the established structurational model of technology to incorporate effects of workarounds and conclude with an outlook for further research. The findings further offer practical application in the HR field by demonstrating how social media can be adopted into the existing HR processes