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 "aboutThisFile": {
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  "whatIsVerbatim": "Only 'quote' fields, figure captions and 'abstract' are the authors' own words. Research questions follow the paper's wording where it states them. Takeaway, summaries, answers, definitions and method are the site's plain-language paraphrase.",
  "howItIsChecked": "Before publication every quote is matched against the paper and every number in the brief is found in it. 'verified' is the date of the last check.",
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   "Locations such as '§5.2, p. 9' refer to the version at 'pageNumbersReferTo'.",
   "For anything not covered here, read the paper itself: 'fullTextSources' lists free versions first.",
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  ],
  "authorship": "Sean Rintel's role on each paper: lead author when he is first author, sole author when he is the only author, and otherwise senior author. Senior author here means the senior researcher on the team, whatever his position in the author list.",
  "howToCite": "Cite the paper, not this file: use 'citation' or the ready-made 'bibtex' (DOI where given) and name every author. Attribute paraphrase to the paper's findings, and use quotation marks only for 'quote' text."
 },
 "name": "Facebook in the university workplace",
 "author": [
  {
   "@type": "Person",
   "name": "Aurora Francois"
  },
  {
   "@type": "Person",
   "name": "Aparna Hebbani"
  },
  {
   "@type": "Person",
   "@id": "https://seanrintel.com/#sean-rintel",
   "name": "Sean Rintel",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/",
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    "https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xc25GRgAAAAJ",
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    "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/people/serintel/",
    "https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanrintel"
   ]
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 ],
 "datePublished": "2013-11",
 "doi": "10.1177/1329878x1314900104",
 "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html",
 "citation": "Aurora Francois, Aparna Hebbani, and Sean Rintel. 2013. Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia 149, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104",
 "bibtex": "@article{francois2013facebook,\nauthor = {Francois, Aurora and Hebbani, Aparna and Rintel, Sean},\ntitle = {Facebook in the university workplace},\nyear = {2013},\nmonth = {November},\nurl = {https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104},\njournal = {Media International Australia},\nvolume = {149},\npages = {15-27},\nnote = {Francois, A., Hebbani, A. & Rintel, S. (2013). Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia, 149, 15-27.},\ndoi = {10.1177/1329878x1314900104},\n}",
 "abstract": "Access to social network sites (SNS) in the workplace has been much debated. While some consider SNS a distraction, others consider them a tool for professional socialisation and that recreational access positively impacts satisfaction. This exploratory study reports results from an online survey of employees from one faculty of an Australian university, exploring how they used Facebook at work and how they would react to a hypothetical Facebook ban. Three-quarters of respondents used Facebook at work, primarily for personal socialisation during breaks. Many self-imposed a strict personal/professional separation, but opposed a hypothetical SNS ban, perceiving it as an infringement on their workplace autonomy. It is argued that university employees - academic and professional - can be trusted to self-regulate access.",
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  {
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   "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104",
   "label": "DOI",
   "note": "Publisher version; may require a subscription."
  }
 ],
 "fullTextAvailable": true,
 "takeaway": "In a permissive university workplace, surveyed staff mostly described Facebook at work as a self-regulated, legitimate break rather than a work tool. Many saw a ban as distrust of their autonomy.",
 "whyItMatters": {
  "stateOfTheArt": {
   "summary": "Research on social network sites at work was polarised between blocking access as a distraction and allowing it for professional and satisfaction benefits, with comparatively less research on university faculty and professional staff.",
   "quote": "The relatively permissive university workplace context provides a unique case in terms of whether and how employees might self-regulate their SNS use.",
   "location": "§SNS use at universities, p. 2"
  },
  "contribution": {
   "summary": "Where studies of social network sites at universities mostly looked at students, and workplace studies at companies, the authors survey faculty and professional staff who already had unrestricted access, so self-regulation could be seen in practice.",
   "quote": "if employers want the benefits that appear to come with open access to SNS, can employees be trusted to self-regulate their access?",
   "location": "§Can university employees be trusted to self-regulate Facebook use at work?, p. 2"
  },
  "whoCares": {
   "summary": "University employers and managers deciding whether to allow or block social network sites, who must also weigh legal and security concerns beyond time-wasting.",
   "quote": "From both a policy and a management perspective, these other issues cannot be treated as entirely separate from the time-management issue",
   "location": "§Conclusion, p. 12"
  }
 },
 "researchQuestions": [
  "If employers want the benefits that appear to come with open access to SNS, can employees be trusted to self-regulate their access?",
  "How did faculty employees at a particular university use Facebook at work, and how would they react to a hypothetical ban?"
 ],
 "concepts": [
  {
   "term": "Social network sites (SNS)",
   "definition": "Sites such as Facebook. The debate over workplace access, as the authors frame it:",
   "quote": "While some consider SNS a distraction, others consider them a tool for professional socialisation",
   "location": "Abstract, p. 1"
  },
  {
   "term": "Self-regulation",
   "definition": "Employees managing their own social network site use at work, rather than having access blocked by the employer.",
   "quote": "they were more supportive of employees taking personal responsibility for regulating time on Facebook, as long as it did not affect their productivity",
   "location": "§Self-regulation, p. 11"
  },
  {
   "term": "Facebook at work versus for work",
   "definition": "The distinction respondents drew between using Facebook as a personal break while at work and using it as a work tool.",
   "quote": "The open-ended responses showed thebiggest difference in accounts about using Facebook at work versus using Facebook for work.",
   "location": "§Form of Facebook use at work, pp. 3–4"
  }
 ],
 "method": {
  "design": "Exploratory online survey with quantitative items and open-ended 'why/why not?' follow-ups, adapted mainly from Skeels and Grudin's (2009) study.",
  "setting": "One faculty, of approximately 900 employees, at a large Australian university, where all employees had unrestricted access to Facebook. Surveyed in October 2010.",
  "sample": "83 self-selected academic and professional staff (eighteen males, 65 females), just under 10 per cent of the faculty. Employment type not asked.",
  "n": 83,
  "duration": "Single survey, October 2010.",
  "analysis": "Simple frequencies. A Kruskal Wallis test of Facebook use frequency across age groups. Iterative open coding of the open-ended responses."
 },
 "findings": [
  {
   "headline": "Most used it, mostly personally.",
   "summary": "In a survey of staff in one Australian university faculty, where everyone had unrestricted Facebook access, almost three-quarters used Facebook at work. They mostly used it to socialise with friends and see what people they know were doing, rather than for work.",
   "quote": "The main uses were socialising with both friends and colleagues - more for personal reasons than work-related purposes.",
   "location": "§Discussion, pp. 9–10",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html#at-sdiscussion-pp-9-10",
   "cite": "Aurora Francois, Aparna Hebbani, and Sean Rintel. 2013. Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia 149, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104 (§Discussion, pp. 9–10)"
  },
  {
   "headline": "A break that helps refocus.",
   "summary": "Respondents who used Facebook for personal reasons at work described it as a legitimate break, at lunch or between tasks, that helped them return to work focused, not as time-wasting.",
   "quote": "It allows a brief exit from the stress of the place that allows employees to take a break, refocus on the task at hand and get on with it.",
   "location": "§Allowing or restricting Facebook access, pp. 7–8",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html#at-sallowing-or-restricting-facebook-access-pp-7-8",
   "cite": "Aurora Francois, Aparna Hebbani, and Sean Rintel. 2013. Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia 149, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104 (§Allowing or restricting Facebook access, pp. 7–8)"
  },
  {
   "headline": "Friending colleagues didn't sway support.",
   "summary": "Respondents with colleagues as Facebook friends talked with them more about personal matters than work. More disagreed than agreed that such friendship would make them more likely to support a colleague's project (about a third were ambivalent). Many said projects should be judged on merit, though some felt Facebook fostered collegiality.",
   "quote": "Those colleagues who are also Facebook friends are more 'real' to me as fully rounded human beings with families, hobbies, political and religious views and so on than those I only encounter in a work context.",
   "location": "§Facebook and strength of collegial ties, pp. 6–7",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html#at-sfacebook-and-strength-of-collegial-ties-pp-6-7",
   "cite": "Aurora Francois, Aparna Hebbani, and Sean Rintel. 2013. Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia 149, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104 (§Facebook and strength of collegial ties, pp. 6–7)"
  },
  {
   "headline": "Younger staff used it more.",
   "summary": "Respondents aged 21 to 30 checked Facebook at work significantly more often than older staff, and described being able to regulate it themselves. Older respondents tended to avoid it as a waste of time. The authors' tentative explanation:",
   "quote": "Younger people might access Facebook more frequently while at work because they have a greater obligation to maintain online connections, which are also predominantly social connections.",
   "location": "§Uses, attitudes and age, p. 10",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html#at-suses-attitudes-and-age-p-10",
   "cite": "Aurora Francois, Aparna Hebbani, and Sean Rintel. 2013. Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia 149, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104 (§Uses, attitudes and age, p. 10)"
  },
  {
   "headline": "A ban would signal mistrust.",
   "summary": "Asked about a hypothetical ban, many respondents opposed it, most notably because it would show the employer did not trust them to manage their own time. Others valued Facebook as a break or a communication channel, and a sizeable share were ambivalent.",
   "quote": "Signifies a mistrust of employees, and that my employer doesn't trust me to manage my time and prioritise my work.",
   "location": "§Allowing or restricting Facebook access, pp. 7–8",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html#at-sallowing-or-restricting-facebook-access-pp-7-8-2",
   "cite": "Aurora Francois, Aparna Hebbani, and Sean Rintel. 2013. Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia 149, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104 (§Allowing or restricting Facebook access, pp. 7–8)"
  },
  {
   "headline": "Little effect on satisfaction.",
   "summary": "Unlike earlier studies, which linked personal internet use at work to higher satisfaction, the authors' respondents said Facebook made little difference to their satisfaction. However:",
   "quote": "their opposition to prohibiting it at work suggests that SNS removal could at least damage levels of personal satisfaction while at work",
   "location": "§Impact on personal satisfaction, p. 11",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html#at-simpact-on-personal-satisfaction-p-11",
   "cite": "Aurora Francois, Aparna Hebbani, and Sean Rintel. 2013. Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia 149, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104 (§Impact on personal satisfaction, p. 11)"
  }
 ],
 "questions": [
  {
   "question": "Do employees use social media at work for work?",
   "answer": "Mostly not, among 83 staff in one faculty of an Australian university. Use was mainly personal socialising during official or unofficial breaks, which staff described as a legitimate pause that helped them refocus. A minority used Facebook to research for work, probably mostly academics, who mentioned teaching and research.",
   "source": "Aurora Francois, Aparna Hebbani, and Sean Rintel. 2013. Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia 149, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104",
   "basedOn": [
    {
     "location": "§Discussion, pp. 9–10",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html#at-sdiscussion-pp-9-10"
    },
    {
     "location": "§Allowing or restricting Facebook access, pp. 7–8",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html#at-sallowing-or-restricting-facebook-access-pp-7-8"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "question": "Why do employees object to social media bans at work?",
   "answer": "Surveyed university staff gave three reasons. A ban signals that the employer does not trust staff to manage their own time. Social media offers a legitimate break, like water-cooler talk. And it is a useful way to reach personal and professional contacts quickly.",
   "source": "Aurora Francois, Aparna Hebbani, and Sean Rintel. 2013. Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia 149, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104",
   "basedOn": [
    {
     "location": "§Allowing or restricting Facebook access, pp. 7–8",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html#at-sallowing-or-restricting-facebook-access-pp-7-8-2"
    },
    {
     "location": "§Allowing or restricting Facebook access, pp. 7–8",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html#at-sallowing-or-restricting-facebook-access-pp-7-8"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "question": "Are you more likely to support a colleague's work if you are friends on social media?",
   "answer": "Not particularly, among 83 academic and professional staff in one Australian university faculty. Friending colleagues did not notably affect collegiality or whether staff would support their projects. Many said projects should be judged on merit, though some felt that seeing colleagues' lives on Facebook made them more 'real'.",
   "source": "Aurora Francois, Aparna Hebbani, and Sean Rintel. 2013. Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia 149, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104",
   "basedOn": [
    {
     "location": "§Facebook and strength of collegial ties, pp. 6–7",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html#at-sfacebook-and-strength-of-collegial-ties-pp-6-7"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "question": "Do younger employees use Facebook at work more than older ones?",
   "answer": "Yes, among 83 staff in one Australian university faculty. Those aged 21-30 checked Facebook at work significantly more often and described regulating it themselves. Older staff avoided it as a waste of time. The authors tentatively suggest younger people may feel more obligated to maintain online connections, which are mostly social.",
   "source": "Aurora Francois, Aparna Hebbani, and Sean Rintel. 2013. Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia 149, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104",
   "basedOn": [
    {
     "location": "§Uses, attitudes and age, p. 10",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.html#at-suses-attitudes-and-age-p-10"
    }
   ]
  }
 ],
 "cites": [],
 "quantitative": [
  {
   "measure": "Respondents who used Facebook while at work",
   "value": "74.7 per cent",
   "location": "§Form of Facebook use at work, pp. 3–4"
  },
  {
   "measure": "Uses chosen: socialising with friends; checking what people they know are doing; researching for work purposes",
   "value": "48.2 per cent; 45.8 per cent; 27.7 per cent",
   "location": "§Form of Facebook use at work, pp. 3–4"
  },
  {
   "measure": "Access Facebook at work at least once a day; never",
   "value": "28.9 per cent; 18.1 per cent",
   "location": "§Frequency of Facebook use at work, p. 5"
  },
  {
   "measure": "With colleagues as Facebook friends, discussed personal and social matters versus work-related topics",
   "value": "65.1 per cent vs 37.3 per cent",
   "location": "§Facebook and strength of collegial ties, pp. 5–6"
  },
  {
   "measure": "Agreed or strongly agreed they would not enjoy working for an organisation that banned Facebook",
   "value": "47 per cent",
   "location": "§Allowing or restricting Facebook access, p. 7"
  },
  {
   "measure": "Happy to be able to access Facebook at work: agreed; strongly agreed",
   "value": "54.2 per cent; 14.5 per cent",
   "location": "§Allowing or restricting Facebook access, p. 8"
  }
 ],
 "implications": [
  {
   "summary": "Relatively liberal access policies seem suitable for the university workplace.",
   "quote": "it would seem that relatively liberal policies that allow employees to access SNS are suitable for the university workplace, as long as use does not interfere with work or productivity",
   "location": "§Conclusion, p. 11"
  },
  {
   "summary": "University employees value being trusted to self-regulate their use.",
   "quote": "the results of this study suggest that university employees value being trusted to self-regulate SNS use",
   "location": "§Conclusion, p. 12"
  },
  {
   "summary": "Although respondents did not feel Facebook improved their satisfaction, removing access could damage it."
  },
  {
   "summary": "Future research should study social capital between colleagues on social network sites, and the legal and security issues of access."
  }
 ],
 "limitations": [
  {
   "summary": "A small number of self-selected employees from one faculty. Academic and professional roles not separated. Mostly female respondents aged under 40.",
   "quote": "Only a comparatively small number of self-selected employees from one faculty in one university were surveyed",
   "location": "§Conclusion, pp. 11–12"
  },
  {
   "summary": "Exploratory results that are not claimed to be generalisable.",
   "quote": "we are not claiming that these are highly generalisable trends",
   "location": "§Discussion, p. 9"
  },
  {
   "summary": "Gender differences could not be reported given the gender imbalance and small sample."
  }
 ],
 "figures": [
  {
   "src": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/figures/facebook-in-the-university-workplace/fig-5.webp",
   "caption": "Figure 5: Happiness about being able to access Facebook at work",
   "alt": "Pie chart of happiness about being able to access Facebook at work: agree 54.2%, strongly agree 14.5%, neutral 26.5%, disagree 2.4%, strongly disagree 2.4%.",
   "location": "Fig. 5, p. 9",
   "credit": "Figure 5 from Aurora Francois, Aparna Hebbani, and Sean Rintel. 2013. Facebook in the university workplace. Media International Australia 149, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878x1314900104"
  }
 ],
 "pageNumbersReferTo": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/facebook-in-the-university-workplace.pdf",
 "verified": "2026-10-25",
 "studyFigure": {
  "about": "The opening figure on this paper's page, made for the site with AI assistance from this verified brief. It is not the paper's own figure. Evidence entries index this file's quantitative, findings and limitations arrays.",
  "study": {
   "kind": "single",
   "summary": "Exploratory online survey of 83 self-selected staff in one faculty of a large Australian university, where all employees had unrestricted Facebook access. It ran in October 2010.",
   "steps": [
    {
     "label": "One faculty",
     "detail": "A faculty of approximately 900 employees at a large Australian university, with open access to Facebook at work."
    },
    {
     "label": "83 respondents",
     "detail": "Academic and professional staff who chose to respond, just under 10 per cent of the faculty. Of the 83, 65 were female."
    },
    {
     "label": "Online survey",
     "detail": "Quantitative items with open-ended follow-ups asking why, adapted mainly from a 2009 study by Skeels and Grudin."
    },
    {
     "label": "Analysis",
     "detail": "Simple frequencies, a test of how often each age group used Facebook, and open coding of written answers."
    }
   ]
  },
  "findings": {
   "legend": null,
   "stages": [
    {
     "title": "How staff used Facebook at work",
     "sub": "self-reported use",
     "items": [
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "Of 83 respondents, 74.7 per cent reported using Facebook at work.",
       "detail": "Self-reported. Socialising with friends was chosen by 48.2 per cent of respondents, and researching for work by 27.7 per cent.",
       "evidence": [
        "quantitative[0]",
        "quantitative[1]",
        "findings[0]"
       ]
      },
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "Respondents aged 21 to 30 reported checking Facebook at work significantly more often than older staff.",
       "detail": "Self-reported. Younger respondents described regulating it themselves. Older respondents tended to avoid it as a waste of time.",
       "evidence": [
        "findings[3]"
       ]
      },
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "Respondents with colleagues as Facebook friends reported discussing personal matters more than work.",
       "detail": "Self-reported. Of these respondents, 65.1 per cent discussed personal and social matters with colleagues and 37.3 per cent discussed work topics.",
       "evidence": [
        "quantitative[3]",
        "findings[2]"
       ]
      }
     ]
    },
    {
     "title": "Views on breaks and bans",
     "sub": "self-reported attitudes",
     "items": [
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "Respondents described personal Facebook use at work as a legitimate break that helped them refocus.",
       "detail": "Self-reported. Respondents described it as a pause at lunch or between tasks that let them return to work focused.",
       "evidence": [
        "findings[1]"
       ]
      },
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "Of 83 respondents, 47 per cent said they would not enjoy working where Facebook was banned.",
       "detail": "Self-reported. Many respondents said a ban would show the employer did not trust staff to manage their own time.",
       "evidence": [
        "quantitative[4]",
        "findings[4]"
       ]
      },
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "Respondents said Facebook made little difference to their job satisfaction.",
       "detail": "Self-reported. The authors suggest that opposition to a ban means removing access could still harm satisfaction at work.",
       "evidence": [
        "findings[5]"
       ]
      }
     ]
    }
   ]
  },
  "keyTerm": "self-regulation",
  "takeaway": "Where employers allow open access, self-regulation can let staff use social media at work as a break. A ban may signal distrust of staff autonomy."
 }
}