Does social media usage boost career prospects of women: an exploratory study in the academia

Abstract

PurposeThis paper draws on the affordance perspective, to explore the social media (SM) usage experiences that might render valuable for academic women professionals, for knowledge exchange, networking and success. Owing to the increased SM usage during COVID-19 pandemic, this paper tries to find out that in what ways do SM affordances facilitate the underprivileged group of women professionals to grow in their careers in a masculine, conservative society through knowledge exchange.Design/methodology/approachBy utilizing qualitative study design, the authors collected data from 31 women employed in Pakistani universities, through unstructured questionnaires. The responses were analyzed through Nvivo.FindingsThe generated themes suggested that women in Pakistan are aware of SM's potential for knowledge exchange among fellow professionals. They use it to aid them in communication, collaboration and networking. Additionally, they utilize it to share knowledge and build networks that are vital for career progression and success.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper concludes with the implications for practitioners that would aid them in boosting career prospects for women academicians through SM usage in a developing country Pakistan; where women's career outlooks are not as promising as for men; or as bright as for women working in the developed economies.Originality/valueThis a unique attempt to explore knowledge exchange dimensions with the help of SM in the context of working women by the deploying the phenomenological approach.

How ostracism jeopardizes customers' interests at restaurants: a study in context of COVID-19

“…Earlier researchers (e.g. Sarwar and Imran, 2019; Sarwar et al ., 2022a, b) have shown that career-related outlooks, attitudes and behavior of Pakistani women within contemporary organizations vary as compared to men. Therefore, scholars have used such covariates (Sarwar et al.…”

“…Earlier research has also shown that when personnel perceive to be socially disconnected and isolated, it increases their depression (Li and Huynh, 2020). Similarly, a recent study (Sarwar et al ., 2022a, b) showed that the fear of a pandemic leads to emotional exhaustion in employees, which in turn negatively affects their performance. Therefore, it would be interesting to study how during the days of a pandemic, how ostracized employees would react to depletion in their resource reservoir.…”

Does workplace ostracism negatively affect family life during a pandemic?

“…During a pandemic, leadership and management need to emphasize the importance of staying in touch with work peers (remotely) for assistance and to create facilitating relationships at the workplace (Toker et al ., 2015). Managers may highlight the role of social media usage during such times (Sarwar et al. , 2022c).…”

Disruption in family life due to despotic leadership and COVID-19: the mediating role of emotional exhaustion

“…It might be beneficial to engage employees in relaxing activities like social media usage (Sarwar et al. , 2022b) and exercise that may help them in reducing the fear of COVID-19 and emotional exhaustion leading to work-life conflict (Sonnentag et al.…”

“…It might be beneficial to engage employees in relaxing activities like social media usage (Sarwar et al, 2022b) and exercise that may help them in reducing the fear of COVID-19 and emotional exhaustion leading to work-life conflict (Sonnentag et al, 2010). Despite adopting such measures, since outbreaks of contagious diseases cannot be ruled out, therefore its negative effects on employees' performance and family life cannot be avoided.…”