Reframing Social Media Use: Unlocking Employee Productivity Through Mental Well-Being

Abstract

This study reframes the role of social media in the workplace by examining how its use can enhance employee productivity through the mediating effect of mental well-being. The research was conducted in Indonesia involving 263 respondents who were full-time or part-time employees within productive working age and active social media users. A quantitative approach with an online survey and purposive sampling was employed. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS 4 software. The results reveal that social media use positively and significantly affects both employee productivity (β = 0.254; p < 0.001) and mental well-being (β = 0.695; p < 0.001). Mental well-being also has a positive and significant effect on productivity (β = 0.669; p < 0.001) and serves as a mediator in the relationship between social media use and productivity (β = 0.465; p < 0.001). The model explains 74.9% of the variance in employee productivity (R² = 0.749) with good predictive relevance (Q² = 0.402). These findings challenge the negative stigma of social media in professional settings, highlighting its potential to foster psychological well-being and sustainable work performance.