Determining the impact of social media usage at a financial institution

Abstract

Social media is an important phenomena in the workplace and even more so in a financial institution. The usage of social media by employees in a financial institution can have an impact on factors like job satisfaction, company loyalty, emotional wellness, social wellness, career wellness and intellectual wellness. It can be insightful for the financial institution to have a better understanding of the impact of social media usage in the company. The study was conducted in the business banking section of a national financial institution, with most respondents located in the Potchefstroom area as well as other business banking employees situated in Klerksdorp, Rustenburg, Vryburg, Lichtenburg and rest of North-West Province. The main objective of this study was to determine the impact of social media usage in a financial institution in order to make some suggestions and recommendations to that financial institution regarding the impact of social media usage by their employees. A literature review was done to explore the impact of social media usage in the institution and subjects like social media growth, social media trends, social media policy and the impact of social media usage on mental health were explored in this literature study. An empirical study in the form of a five part questionnaire was sent out to 200 employees of in the financial institution with a response rate of 130 participants. The data was analysed in terms of frequency by making use of frequency tables, pie charts and bar charts, as well as for validity by using Cronbach Alpha coefficient and t-tests. Recommendations and conclusions were made regarding social media usage within the financial organization, based on this literature review and empirical study done.