Work digital, play digital

Originally posted in MBTI Talk

It’s safe to say that social media has become an integral part of our daily routines – both at work and at home. In fact, Pew Research Center’s latest report reveals that around 68% of Americans use Facebook, making it the most widely used social media platform. The findings also show frequent use of other platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter, with a large number of respondents claiming they visit each at least once per day.

Social media may serve various purposes for different people, depending on how they approach it. For instance, we’ve talked about how social media can be a productive part of university students’ lives IF they avoid certain pitfalls.

The same can be said for employees, regardless of their MBTI preferences.

Although social media channels used to be cast under a bad light in the workplace, recent research has shown that these platforms can be more focused towards employees’ learning and development. As an HR professional or trainer, have you considered incorporating social media into training and company policies in order to encourage more positive results?

Using LinkedIn

Trainers may require new hires to join a private group on LinkedIn for them to get to know one another. The virtual space can be utilized for team building and collaborative learning aspects. Those who prefer Introversion might also appreciate the written aspect of the ‘get to know you’ activities when combined with more traditional, ‘in-person’ ice breakers. Employees with both preferences do the same type of activities on the platform, like browsing, recommending and gathering information, so LinkedIn can often serve as a common ground.

From our own social media and MBTI type research, individuals with preferences for Extraversion (40%), Intuition (41%) and Thinking (38%) reported using LinkedIn more often than individuals with the opposite preferences. Those with ENTJ preferences reported the most use of LinkedIn (54%) while those with preferences for INFJ reported the least use of the platform (16%).

In general, individuals with a preference for Extraversion reported spending more time engaging in certain activities on LinkedIn during their work time than those with preferences for Introversion.

The Gamification Approach

Some corporations turn to gamification as a means of keeping staff engaged. What is gamification? It’s the use of game-thinking and game mechanics in non-game scenarios (like training and development) and it makes non-game scenarios more engaging, fun and competitive. By using online leader boards, shareable badges, and digital challenges, HR professionals can encourage employees to boost their performance at work.

Each personality type may have a different approach in achieving a goal set by the company. Those with preferences for sensing will tend to look for practical solutions to problems, while people preferring Intuition may seek more innovative and creative approaches. However, most employees share the desire to be recognized, no matter what form. And the gamification process is one way to ensure this recognition. In recent studies, many employees even say recognition at work matters more than money.

Sharing Knowledge and Research

If you don’t already have an internal content sharing platform, Pinterest could be an ideal tool for employees to compile content and share it with others (as long as it’s not company confidential). Silicon Republic notes how Pinterest actually develops their own employee creativity, through shared activities and creating events such as Knit Con. Employees who feel that they’re recognized as individuals with skills, talents and interests outside of work are more likely to be engaged, and seeing the cultivated boards on Pinterest is a great way for employees to share their passions but also to get the creative juices flowing.

In addition, the platform has appeal to both Extraverted and Introverted preferences. Those with Extraverted preferences draw energy from engaging with others, and they can do that by interacting with other users’ boards in person (think one employee showing another employee a Pinterest board on their phone). Meanwhile, Pinterest also offers a privacy option, and those with Introverted preferences can use it to save ideas or interesting content they find for future reference.

Making Productive Online Searches

Social media giants have made information easily accessible to users by introducing search tools like hashtags. These tools make the platforms a decent learning and search-friendly resource. For instance, you could type in #productivitytips on platforms such as Twitter or Instagram to pull up useful information from people around the world (but fair warning, you’ll also get a healthy dose of sarcasm and humor along the way!).

It helps that search giant Google also frequently incorporates new methods of making information access faster and easier for their users. Ayima reports that Google Search can be now used for other purposes, like currency conversion, purchasing movie tickets, finding airline flights and even playing games. Not all employees are tech savvy enough to keep up with the latest productivity hacks, but offering for your more tech-inclined employees to share with other employees tips and tricks like these foster a sense of community and shared knowledge that’s important for employee growth and organizational culture.