Hello, everyone.
Segment of a social network
For some time now I’ve been receiving daily emails from the Harvard Business Review (HBR) with their “Management Tip of the Day”. Occasionally I’d like to pass a tip on to you with an astrological perspective, especially if it highlights a planetary aspect we’ve been considering in these pages.
On February 3rd, the HBR Tip was “Encourage the use of Social Media at Work”. The gist of the article was that reasonable employee use of social media has actually been shown to benefit companies.
Blame Neptune in Aquarius
Social media is here to stay for a long while. Astrologically, with Neptune, which represents our desire to connect with each other, in Aquarius, which rules electronics, virtual space, airwaves, and innovation, these social media serve an essential role in the ongoing development of our world. When Neptune’s involved, the actual productive outcome of all this interaction can be a little vague, but it’s still important to be participating in the trend.
On the other hand, we have Saturn travelling through Libra. This planet of limitation in the sign of relationship may unfortunately signal a desire to limit social interaction. As employers, we may feel that our employees are wasting time; we may even criticize ourselves for not being more productive when we check Twitter or Facebook or our email every time we hear that familiar ping.
It’s good for your business
Maintaining an attractive workplace helps us to retain the best employees, especially now when large raises or bonuses are probably not in the picture. The HBR Tip notes that especially the younger generations see social media as a staple of work life and will seek out employers who acknowledge the critical role they play. It also notes that research has shown that employees who take breaks to surf the net are ultimately more productive to the goals of the company. Furthermore, you and your employees use these media to do business: to connect with colleagues and customers, to improve communication, and to speed up decision making processes.
Develop some guidelines
So next time your hackles come up when you see someone “wasting time” on social media, even if that someone is you, take a minute to remember this tip. And there is nothing to say you can’t establish some rules about it; better yet, ask a team of young people to come up with some guidelines for the whole group. That will please Saturn in Libra, who likes rules of engagement, and Neptune in Aquarius, who loves collaborative problem-solving.
Leave a comment if you like: do you engage in social media too much, too little, or just about right?
Don’t forget. If you have an astrology-related business question (or a business-related astrology question) send it to me at ellen@astro4business.com. I’ll answer it in these posts, anonymously of course, and we can all learn from each other’s experiences. I look forward to it! Have a question now? Email it and let’s get started!
