Abstract

The rapidity in the rise of social media is changing how organizations operate and handle their communication. Several organizations are in search of ways to seize advantage in this emerging era marked by greater real time, interactivity and transparency. The new media, of which Facebook is part, is growing so fast that it makes it imperative for employees to embrace the medium in the workplace. Facebook’s widespread among workers has given an interest in how Facebook usage is related to the output of workers. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of Facebook usage on the productivity of employees of University of Cape Coast. A questionnaire purposely designed for the study was used to gather the data from a sample of 100 respondents purposively selected from the staff of the University of Cape Coast, after a pilot study. The time spent and the number of times people visit Facebook has both positive and negative effects on the output of workers. It also emerged that Facebook has become an important part of people’s lives. The study showed that the use of Facebook during productive hours has a significant influence on staff productivity. Facebooking by employees affect their skills/ability, knowledge/qualification, and productivity/outcomes.

Key words: Facebook, University of Cape Coast, facebooking