Microsoft: Social at work is not a time waster — if done right
Microsofts big bet last year, when it acquired corporate social networking and content collaboration company Yammer, was that social tools would become a big part of doing business.
And while its use certainly seems to be increasing and Microsoft seems to feel very good about how the acquisition is working out, given the updates it provides on Yammers momentum theres still the lingering notion that social saps productivity.
So Microsoft commissioned a survey to find out what workers reallythink about social in the workplace.
A Microsoft-commissioned study on social tools in the workplace shows gender and age differences in how much workers think social tools have increased their productivity. (Infographic from Microsoft)
The results of the survey of nearly 10,000 information workers in 32 countries, conducted by research firm Ipsos,are being released today.
Unsurprisingly, the findings could be helpful to Microsoft as it sells its offerings that feature integrated Yammer capabilities. But the survey alsoturns upsome interesting findings about the way businesses and workers are using and regarding social tools these days.
Turns out, 46 percent of the workers surveyed felt their productivity increased because of their use of social tools. Forty percent said collaboration increased as a result of using social tools and 31 percent said they would be willing to spend their own money on social tools if it helped them work more efficiently.
Adam Pisoni, co-founder of Yammer and a Microsoft GM (Photo from Microsoft)
While employees are saying: We want new social collaboration tools, employers are (still) saying its a productivity waster, said Adam Pisoni,Yammer co-founder anda general manager inMicrosoftsOffice division. We wanted to understand that tension.
The tension, as Pisoni sees it, comes in part from how our jobs and the way we work are changing.
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Microsoft: Social at work is not a time waster -- if done right