Everyone uses social media, but HR is most discreet

More than 80% of Americans have social media accounts, and 68% of those users say they have work colleagues in their circle of online friends.

Those stats, from a new survey by Igloo Software, mean social media users run a reasonable risk of offending with their keyboards.

In fact, 46% of respondents to the State of Social Media in the Workplace survey said they had worried about what a co-worker might think about one of their social media posts. Fifty-five percent said they had decided against posting something because of an awkward co-worker connection.

HR professionals were the most circumspect of all—61% said they had held back on posting something because they feared embarrassing themselves or someone else, or because they did not want to betray a confidence.