Problematic Social Media Use and Employee Outcomes: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

A systematic literature review was conducted to summarize research that examined the association between problematic social media use (PSMU) and employee work-related and psychological outcomes. Following rigorous protocols, 42 peer-reviewed studies published from 2013 to 2022 were identified from the Web of Science, Elsevier, and PubMed databases, which were used to analyze and evaluate the current research boundary, explore the accumulated knowledge, and propose approaches to further enrich this research area. The findings of this review revealed that the current research mainly focuses on four research themes (a) focal areas of effects, (b) divergence of effects, (c) contextual specificity, and (d) investigated variables. However, the existing knowledge on this domain is still limited in understanding the conceptualization of PSMU, along with the narrow focus on methodological, geographical focus, and objective measures. This study contributes to theory, as it is one of the few reviews that link PSMU to employee outcomes, building an integrated framework to outline future research trends.