A. Gutierrez
According to a new study of the University of Melbourne in Australia, workers who are allowed to use the Internet for personal reasons are 9% more productive than workers who don´t.
“People
need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration,” said Dr. Brent
Coker from the University of Melbourne’s Department of Management and
Marketing, in a statement. “Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf
of the Internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net
concentration for a days work, and as a result, increased productivity.”
The site smallbusiness.chron.com, says
that businesses need to
be proactive in the workplace with establishing limits, creating a clear and
comprehensive acceptable use policy and communicating it to employees through
presentation and workshops, but for how long is acceptable surfing on the web
for personal uses? For example The Chief Information Officers Council, a (U.S.)
government-wide committee of senior technology executives proposed that Federal
workers be allowed to spend some time conducting personal business online just
as “agencies let employees use telephones to make a reasonable amount of
personal calls” ( CIOs: A Little Personal Internet
Use Is Ok. Govexec.com.
March 22, 1999.)
I think
that companies should have an Internet use policy by establishing a reasonable time
for personal use. This should be based on the type of work and the amount of
hours in front of a monitor. In addition, companies have to establish a code of ethics and stipulate the use of certain websites so that the code of ethics is not violated.
I think a code of ethics would be a great way to establish personal internet use in the workplace. I also think it is up to management and other supervisor roles to set the standards and maintain the culture of the office.
ReplyDeleteI worked with a manager who would constantly look up mug shots on a news website. This manager would often show all the employees and walk around with copies of the pictures. While we might (or might not) have had fun with it, I believe it took away from our productivity. From then on, we knew the culture of our work zone was carefree.
The internet misuse is at all levels in a company, as you mentioned in your comment. I think when this happens it becomes more complicated because who must be maintaining the culture is not doing it.
DeleteI used to work with a management who was always watching videos in youtube and always wanted us to watch them as well, or even asking us our opinion about some items he wanted to buy, it was really uncomfortable and unprofessional.
I totally agree with this blog. I think the workplace needs to allow breaks throughout the day whether it is internet surfing, getting a cup of coffee, or stepping outside. I also agree with Reese that it is up to management to set standards and maintain the culture of the office. Alongside that, if the company hires good employees who care about productivity, they should have a good sense of limitations. It's nice to get a quick peak at a site you like!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, there is nothing wrong with having a break, I used to work for a company where the use of internet was not prohibited; in addition, I really felt that my production was not affected, and did not interfere with my job responsibilities. As a responsible employee, you always know when you can take a little bit of time for a brake, sometimes shorter or sometimes longer it depends of the amount of work you have at that moment.
DeleteI love that statistic. Those that are able to use their work computer for personal use are 9% more productive than those that don't. I agree, doing one thing for a long period of time can be exhausting. It's nice to have a break and focus your brain on something else.
ReplyDeleteSome employees take advantage of using the work computer for personal use, so I don't think it would be a bad idea for companies to put some restrictions. Maybe a max of 30 mins of internet surfing for an 8-hour work day? I think a little bit of control on the companies part would be beneficial.
You are right! I think that a 30 minutes lapse in an eight hour shift will be appropriate. If the stats are right and employees are surfing the internet in allowed website by the company, I don’t see the problem. I also agree that there has to be some kind of control will be beneficial; moreover, we know that a majority of companies have way to monitor activity within their network restricting users from visiting certain websites
DeleteI think having a policy is a good start. Management needs to set the standards as others have said and they also should be willing to enforce it. I work with a person who abuses internet/phone privileges all the time and no one will say anything to her. The rest of us end up picking up some of the slack and it ends up creating a real toxic environment. This is obviously one specific case and most people don't do it to such extremes, but a written policy would be good.
ReplyDeleteI think you have a good point. If there is a policy for internet use at work, but management that not respect it or enforce it, then it will defeat the whole purpose. I also agree that picking up slack from other coworkers can be annoying and stressful. I work in a place where people used to abuse the internet/phone privileges, and management decided to prohibit the use of phones or laptops in the work area. I think personal use of the internet at work is ok as long as it doesn’t interfere with your responsibilities and your coworkers.
DeleteWhen I was waiting tables I found it fascinating how many smoke-breaks the other servers would take. As a non-smoker I never thought about taking one until after I had already quit. Why couldn't I take smoke breaks then, too? I have no idea how many minutes, or hours for that matter, were taken up during a regular shift, but I know that no one ever seemed to complain about it. In the restaurant industry, as long as customers are satisfied and the work gets done, nobody complains. This thought seems relevant to the internet topic. If people are completing their assigned work during the alloted time, then why not allow them time for personal reasons (smoking, surfing the internet, whatever)? I suppose the trick is having to discipline the abusers as it seems more likely for someone to waste longer periods of time on the internet than outside chain smoking!
ReplyDeleteGood point! Where I work, smokers will take “smoking breaks” and, nobody seems to pay much attention to that. I guess that is because they have their own designated areas and they don’t bother anybody. So, what’s the difference from a dose of nicotine and a dose of “facebook” ? I think that as long as you are completing your work and not interfering with others, a dose of FB will be ok.
DeleteI do not agree with the idea of using company time for personal emails, Facebook etc. I have also done research on this topic and there are contradicting statistics that suggests significant loss of productivity. One such study found that on average it takes 15 minutes to return to serious work after answering personal email, spam, or even unnecessary mail from coworkers. This calculates into an annual loss of over 1500$ per user! We have this idea that everything is urgent and must be dealt with immediately when in reality we start to miss the truly important work-related issues.
ReplyDeleteI concur that as a company you will look for a high productivity environment, and for your resources to be use properly. However, when you are working for a long period of time in an office environment, and you are looking at the same screens over and over, it can become exhausting. I find myself more productive after taking a short break surfing the internet, or just by looking anything not related to work. I believe that a high productivity environment will be Ideal for the company, but I also believe that a comprehensive personal use of the internet at work will be of value for its employees
DeleteI have to agree with Laura.I haven't done much research on the topic, but the though of me pulling someone else's weight because they are surfing the internet, does't sit well. I have the mind set, that once at work its time to employ yourself. I completely understand that emergencies do arise and personal days are needed, however, I do not believe that every day warrants a set block of time for personal use.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Pulling up someone else’s weight because they are surfing the internet will be stressful. On the other hand, would you be upset if someone is using the internet for personal reason without inferring with your workload or your person?
DeleteI think it is a good idea to allow employees down time for personal use during the work day. If limitations are set but employees are allowed to use the internet some then there would not be any stress of having to hide personal use of the internet. I would be a happier employee if I was able to use the internet for personal use some at work.
ReplyDelete