Survey says: You are a slacker

[Fanatic]

A new survey of 9,255 employees, hiring managers and HR professionals has uncovered this shocker -- you slack off at work.

Well, probably not you, but pretty much everyone around you. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com found that nearly one-third (29%, to be precise) of workers will be doing their holiday shopping online and on company time. Probably buying something for the department gift exchange, right?

And it gets worse.

• Research: Sixty-one percent of workers use the Internet for non-work related research and activities while they are at work. Among these workers, 37 percent said they spend an average of more than 30 minutes of their workday on non-work related online activities and 18 percent said they spend an average of an hour or more.
• E-mail: When it comes to digital correspondence, 20 percent of workers send six or more non-work related e-mails per day. Among this group, 22 percent spend more than 30 minutes during the typical workday doing so.
• Blogging: Nine percent of workers surveyed have a personal blog, and while nearly a quarter (23 percent) of them spend time blogging at work, only 9 percent of them spend 15 minutes or more blogging during the typical workday.
• Social Networking: Forty-one percent of workers surveyed have a MySpace, Facebook or other social networking page. More than one-third (35 percent) of them spend time on their social networking page during the workday with 8 percent spending 30 minutes or more.
• Instant Messaging: Twenty percent of workers use instant messenger at least once a week.

Should you be concerned about your -- ahem -- your coworkers' -- surfing habits? Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources for CareerBuilder.com says that while "...employers are unlikely to terminate workers for online holiday shopping during the workday, employees should proactively police their personal Internet usage. In addition, employees need to be aware of company Internet policies, as more than a quarter of employers surveyed monitor workers' time spent online and sites visited. Employees can then determine if it is best to designate their lunch hour or break times for online holiday shopping."

Not slacking? Feeling smug right now? Better get to that shopping list -- you are making the rest of us look bad!

[Gandalf]

Classic! What the survey doesn't say is what a little discretionary web surfing can do for employee morale and productivity. Working in a stifling environment can sap the life out of anyone, and little "breaks" help keep you sane and focused.

That's MY story, and I'm sticking to it.

[Tigerblade]

I'll back you on that one, Gandalf.

[jencan]

Originally Posted by Gandalf

Classic! What the survey doesn't say is what a little discretionary web surfing can do for employee morale and productivity. Working in a stifling environment can sap the life out of anyone, and little "breaks" help keep you sane and focused.

That's MY story, and I'm sticking to it.

I completely agree, if you know how to control your web surfing and internet behavior, I think it is harmless and actually adds to productivity.

[kelseyc]

Originally Posted by Gandalf

Classic! What the survey doesn't say is what a little discretionary web surfing can do for employee morale and productivity. Working in a stifling environment can sap the life out of anyone, and little "breaks" help keep you sane and focused.

That's MY story, and I'm sticking to it.

I totally agree Gandalf! In my old full-time position, I would take little breaks in between proofreading and writing summaries to check my personal email or write a note on my blog. These breaks really helped me stay sane, like you said.