EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
44% of workers see active social media presence as career risk: ASA
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48% of older employees say social media hurts careers, but 51% of Gen Z believe it helps.
44% of US workers believe an active social media presence is more likely to hurt their careers, according to a study by the American Staffing Association (ASA). In the latest ASA Workforce Monitor survey, only 37% of respondents said social media use can be an advantage, underscoring growing concerns regarding the social media career impact in today's professional landscape.
The news comes at a time when social media checks have become a common hiring practice: 70% of employers admit to using social networking sites to research job seekers, of which 57% claim to have found content that caused them to reject an application.
The survey also revealed varying attitudes on the benefits and dangers of social media on career prospects across generations. For instance, 48% of employees from the Baby Boomer generation (ages 61-79) consider an active social media presence detrimental to someone's career, while Gen Z (ages 18-28) says it can help.
56% of Gen Z workers also believe that being active on social media has helped them advance in their careers, compared with 44% of millennials (29-44), Gen X (45-60), and just 20% of Baby Boomers.
"An active social media presence has the ability to make or break years of hard work in the blink of an eye," said ASA CEO Richard Wahlquist. "While younger generations may see social media as a platform for personal expression as well as a tool to advance their careers, it's important to keep in mind that any post you make will likely be seen by potential employers."
The Workforce Monitor survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of the ASA in April 2025. It interviewed 2,093 adults in the US, of whom 1,272 were employed.
Despite changing attitudes towards social media at work, an estimated 42% of workers still spend up to four hours on social media during work hours, while another 22% claim to use social media for mental health breaks at work, according to online job platform Monster.com.
In contrast, the Monster poll revealed that half of workers preferred their employers not to follow them on social media and avoid mixing their personal and professional lives. 56% also believed that it is unethical for employers to check their employees' social media accounts, including workplace-oriented platforms like LinkedIn.
Several cases of conflicts between social media and work have also been heavily publicized online. In 2015, a Thai national was fired by Cognizant after his social media posts demeaning Filipinos went viral. More recently, a media relations executive at Chinese tech firm Baidu resigned following backlash for posting videos regarding the controversial "996" work culture and threatening employees.
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