AN ASSESMENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY COLLEGES: A CASE OF RONGO UNIVERSITY, KENYA

Social media has swept through popular culture recently and more than 1.5 billion members globally joined online communities and started using social platforms. Hence, the popularity of social media cannot be ignored by any industry. This study sought to establish the relationship of social media use and employee performance in public universities in Kenya. The study centered on the effects of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and WhatsApp on employee performance in Rongo University. Descriptive design was adopted with a target population of 497 employees from Rongo University. 136 respondents were sampled and administered with structured questionnaires. The collected data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential analysis with the aid of the statistical software for social sciences (SPSS). Findings revealed that Twitter, LinkedIn and WhatsApp affect employee performance. The study concluded that employee performance associated with LinkedIn was attributed to knowledge, information sharing, career advancement and collaborations. Other social media had inverse relationship with employee performance because their usage was not related to actual assigned duties. The study recommended implementation of clear and comprehensive policies to address social media usage, relevance, site restrictions and information confidentiality. More funds should be allocated to train personnel on social media usage in public institutions.