Social Media Activeness and Work-Life Balance in the Bangladesh Context: A Descriptive Study - Abstract
The report examines how social media (SM) activeness affects the work-life
balance of Bangladeshi white collar work force and suggests measures to reduce their
negative and reinforce their positive aspects. Primary research has been conducted
using an online questionnaire-based survey using judgement sampling. The results
suggest that more people in Bangladesh access social media through mobile internet;
25% respondents are heavy-users, people aged between 25-35 years use more SM
per day than other respondents. Adaptive behaviour is observed in balancing work
and family lives by limiting the use of public SM at work and the use of private workrelated SM at home. The effects of SM activeness on family life are both positive and
negative. Half of the surveyed are satisfied with the way they divide their attention
between work and other life activities. SM usage does not apparently create negative
impact on leisure activities; most respondents go on vacation regularly and limit their
use of SM during vacation. The negative impacts on social lives cover less social
interactions, negative feelings and emotions, cyber-bullying, waste of productive time,
and the like. Respondents feel positive emotions by using SM such as happiness, boost
of self-esteem, and motivation; negative emotions cover rejection, jealousy, and lower
self-esteem. The study recommends several measures including telecommute or work
from home, flexible hours, community engagement activities, team-building exercises,
more paid vacations, childcare services at work site, exercise facilities during work,
monitoring public social media usage of employees and private work-related social
media or intranets for office communications.