Social media can be a powerful communication tool for employees, helping them to collaborate, share ideas and solve problems. Research has shown that 82% of employees think social media can improve work relationships and 60% believe it can support decision-making processes. These beliefs contribute to a majority of workers connecting with colleagues on social media, even during work hours.Employers typically worry that social media is a productivity killer; more than half of U.S. employers reportedly block access to social media at work. In my research with 277 employees of a healthcare organization I found these concerns to be misguided. Social media doesn’t reduce productivity nearly as much as it kills employee retention.In the first part of the study I surveyed the employees about why and how they used platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Respondents were then asked about their work behaviors, including whether they felt motivated in their jobs and showed initiative at work. I found employees who engage in online social interactions with co-workers through social media blogs tend to be more motivated and come up with innovative ideas. But when employees interact with individuals outside the organization, they are less motivated and show less initiative.In the second part of the study I found 76% of employees using social media for work took an interest in other organizations they found on social media. When I examined how respondents expressed openness to new careers and employers, I found that they engaged in some key activities including researching new organizations and making new work connections.These findings present a dilemma for managers: employees using social media at work are more engaged and more productive, but they are also more likely to leave your company. Managers should implement solutions that neutralize the retention risk caused by social media.They can create social media groups in which employees will be more likely to collaborate and less likely to share withdrawal intentions or discussions about external job opportunities. Managers can also use social media to directly reduce turnover (跳槽) intentions, by recognizing employees’ accomplishments and giving visibility to employees’ success stories.1. What does previous research about social media reveal?A. Most employees think positively of it.B. It improves employees’ work efficiency.C. It enables employees to form connections.D. Employees spend much of their work time on it.2. What did the author’s own research find about social media?A. It influences employees’ work negatively.B. It does much harm to employee loyalty.C. It kills employees’ motivation for work.D. It affects employers’ decision-making.3. What did the author find in his study about the effect of online social interactions?A. It differs from employee to employee.B. It tends to vary with the platform used.C. It has much to do with whom employees interact with.

我们来逐题分析这篇文章的内容，并给出详细的中文解题过程和答案。

第一题：

题目：

1. What does previous research about social media reveal?
   （关于社交媒体，先前的研究揭示了什么？）

选项：
A. Most employees think positively of it.
（大多数员工对它持积极看法。）
B. It improves employees’ work efficiency.
（它提高了员工的工作效率。）
C. It enables employees to form connections.
（它使员工能够建立联系。）
D. Employees spend much of their work time on it.
（员工在工作时间花大量时间在它上面。）

解题过程：

我们回到文章第一段，找“previous research”（先前的研究）的内容：

> Research has shown that 82% of employees think social media can improve work relationships and 60% believe it can support decision-making processes. These beliefs contribute to a majority of workers connecting with colleagues on social media, even during work hours.

翻译：
研究表明，82%的员工认为社交媒体可以改善工作关系，60%的员工认为它有助于决策过程。这些看法促使大多数员工即使在工作时间也会通过社交媒体与同事建立联系。

我们分析这些信息：

• 82% 的人认为能改善工作关系 → 说明他们对社交媒体有正面看法。
• 60% 的人认为有助于决策 → 也是正面看法。
• 多数人因此与同事建立联系 → 支持 C 选项。

但问题是：“previous research reveals”（先前的研究揭示了什么？）

我们看选项：

• A. Most employees think positively of it.
  → 是的，82% 和 60% 都是正面看法，加起来是大多数。这个选项是概括性的，正确。

• B. It improves employees’ work efficiency.
  → 文章没有说“提高效率”（efficiency），只说“改善关系”和“支持决策”，但“支持决策”不等于“提高效率”。这个选项过度引申，不准确。

• C. It enables employees to form connections.
  → 虽然文中提到“connecting with colleagues”，但这是“员工的行为”，而不是“研究揭示”的核心内容。研究揭示的是“员工认为社交媒体有帮助”，从而导致他们建立联系。所以“建立联系”是结果，不是研究的直接发现。这个选项不如 A 直接。

• D. Employees spend much of their work time on it.
  → 文中说“even during work hours”（即使在工作时间），但没有说“花大量时间”，无法支持“much time”。这个选项无依据。

因此，最准确反映“previous research reveals”的是 A。

第一题答案：

\boxed{A}

第二题：

题目：
2. What did the author’s own research find about social media?
（作者自己的研究发现了什么？）

选项：
A. It influences employees’ work negatively.
（它对员工工作有负面影响。）
B. It does much harm to employee loyalty.
（它严重损害员工忠诚度。）
C. It kills employees’ motivation for work.
（它打击了员工的工作积极性。）
D. It affects employers’ decision-making.
（它影响雇主的决策。）

解题过程：

我们找作者自己的研究发现，重点在第二段：

> In my research with 277 employees of a healthcare organization I found these concerns to be misguided. Social media doesn’t reduce productivity nearly as much as it kills employee retention.

翻译：
在我的研究中，我发现这些担忧是错误的。社交媒体对生产力的损害远不如它对员工留任的破坏大。

关键词：“kills employee retention” → 意思是“导致员工流失”，也就是员工更容易离职，损害员工忠诚度或留任意愿。

继续看后面内容也支持这一点：

> In the second part of the study I found 76% of employees using social media for work took an interest in other organizations they found on social media... they engaged in... researching new organizations and making new work connections.

→ 76% 的员工对其他公司产生兴趣，研究新公司，建立新联系 → 这说明他们有跳槽倾向。

所以作者的研究发现是：社交媒体虽然提升积极性，但会增加员工离职的风险，即损害员工忠诚度或留任。

我们看选项：

• A. It influences employees’ work negatively.
  → 太宽泛。作者说它提升积极性和创新，对工作行为有正面影响，只是影响留任。不能说整体是负面影响。

• B. It does much harm to employee loyalty.
  → “employee loyalty”（员工忠诚度）和“employee retention”（员工留任）是同义表达。作者明确说“kills employee retention”，正是这个意思。正确。

• C. It kills employees’ motivation for work.
  → 错！作者说：与同事在线互动的员工更有动力（more motivated）。所以这个选项与原文相反。

• D. It affects employers’ decision-making.
  → 文中没有提到雇主的决策受影响。这是无中生有。

第二题答案：

\boxed{B}

第三题：

题目：
3. What did the author find in his study about the effect of online social interactions?
（作者在研究中发现在线社交互动的影响是什么？）

选项：
A. It differs from employee to employee.
（因员工而异。）
B. It tends to vary with the platform used.
（随所使用的平台而变化。）
C. It has much to do with whom employees interact with.
（与员工互动的对象有很大关系。）

解题过程：

我们回到文章第三段，看作者关于“online social interactions”的发现：

> I found employees who engage in online social interactions with co-workers through social media blogs tend to be more motivated and come up with innovative ideas.
> But when employees interact with individuals outside the organization, they are less motivated and show less initiative.

翻译：

• 与同事在线互动的员工 → 更有动力，更有创新想法。
• 与组织外的人互动的员工 → 动力更弱，主动性更低。

所以，互动对象不同，影响完全不同。

我们看选项：

• A. It differs from employee to employee.
  → 文中没有说“因人而异”，而是说“取决于互动对象”。这个选项强调个体差异，不准确。

• B. It tends to vary with the platform used.
  → 文中提到 Facebook、Twitter、LinkedIn，但没有说不同平台效果不同。没有依据。

• C. It has much to do with whom employees interact with.
  → 完全正确！“whom”就是“和谁互动”，正是作者发现的关键：和同事互动 vs. 和外部人互动，结果截然不同。

第三题答案：

\boxed{C}

最终答案：

1. \boxed{A}
2. \boxed{B}
3. \boxed{C}