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Websurfing Damaging U.S. Productivity?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the forget-your-job-keep-reading dept.

Bert writes "Ars Technica does a good job of debunking a study that claims that American business lose $178 billion a year to web surfing in the workplace. Particularly alarming is the fact that the study used the beliefs of 350 IT managers to determine how many hours a week the average employee wastes online. Like the article asks: where's the calculation of how much time we all spend answer work e-mail at home?"

18 of 381 comments (clear)

  1. Guilty as charged by skurk · · Score: 4, Funny

    I mean, hey - look at me, I'm at work right now, reading and posting on slashdot.
    I even spent a few minutes reloading the front page so I could go for first post.

    But *Ahem* Seriously though, I love my job and only surf in between tasks.
    (-: (siht sdaer ssob ym esac ni tsuJ)

    --
    www.6502asm.com - Code 6502 assembly or.. DIE!!
    1. Re:Guilty as charged by ucahg · · Score: 1, Funny

      Me too! I mean, I'm on a break right now, even though I've only been at work for 19 minutes. No, I swear I'm not surfing slashdot while I work, it's during breaks! Honest!

    2. Re:Guilty as charged by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 3, Funny

      I even spent a few minutes reloading the front page so I could go for first post.

      The star sign next to your Slashdot ID says that you even spent a few *dollars* so you could get first post.

      I congratulate you Sir for being a very conscientious employee: you knew you'd have to spent incredible amounts of time reloading the /. front page over and over to have a chance to get first post as a non-subscriber, but instead you decided to become a /. subscriber to be able to RTFA and post ahead of time, thereby saving time and company money!

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    3. Re:Guilty as charged by CrashRoX · · Score: 2, Funny

      great outdoors? where? I have no idea what you are talking about.

    4. Re:Guilty as charged by Irashtar · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hm, I wonder if I can get my title changed to "Network information researcher"

    5. Re:Guilty as charged by bladesjester · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's that big blue room that occasionally has leaky pipes.

      --
      Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
  2. They found the IT guys? by coinreturn · · Score: 4, Funny

    Particularly alarming is the fact that the study used the beliefs of 350 IT managers to determine how many hours a week the average employee wastes online.

    Since the IT guys are the ones you can never find at work and never respond to pagers, how did they even ask them? How about, How much productivity is lost trying to find the IT guy?

    1. Re:They found the IT guys? by b0r0din · · Score: 2, Funny

      Maybe because they're busy surfing the web and answering online surveys about workplace productivity?

    2. Re:They found the IT guys? by PsiPsiStar · · Score: 4, Funny

      How about, How much productivity is lost trying to find the IT guy?

      Or gained. If you could find us, you'd only be asking silly questions anyways. Now leave me alone. I have a ..um... server that needs cooling. It's very important.

      --

      ___
      It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
  3. Re:I'm on break by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    I wonder if I count as "lost productivitiy"?


    No. You're posting on Slashdot, which means you're counted as "lost soul".

  4. Re:Surfing time is NON-FUNGIBLE! by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 2, Funny
    looking out the window at the girls,

    Damn, where do *you* work?

    I have a window, but all I see is a concrete courtyard with the occcasional squirrel.

    Not sure if the squirrels are female or not.

    My repeated attempts to get a branch office opened right next to a local beachside walking/biking path have been met with laughter and derision from my bosses.

  5. Re:it's lunchtime! by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hello Cederic,

    This is Robert, your boss down the hall...

    Then again, I'm salaried. I got here at 7.35am

    The starting time for your shift is 7:30.

    I'll leave some time this evening.

    As a friendly reminder, your shift ends at 5:30.

    In the meantime I'll be spending several hours constantly flicking to the live internet commentary of the cricket. Cricket is more important that work.

    Cederic, would you mind stepping into my office when you have a moment? Oh and bring one of those pink A5 sheets by the secretary's desk on your way if you please.

    -- Robert

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  6. Re:What productivity? by Uukrul · · Score: 1, Funny
    Most American jobs require, at most, 3 to 4 hrs of concerted effort per day. Beyond that, you're just making work for yourself to appear busy and aquire asskissing points.
    I belived that we Europeans were differents from Americans. Now I can see that differences are only a matter of geograpy.
    --
    My city: Barcelona.
  7. Re:Slashdot's Stats by mrselfdestrukt · · Score: 2, Funny

    christiannerds hey?
    To me that's almost as revolting as goatse...

    --
    "I used to have that really cool,funny sig ,but it got stolen."
  8. Re:Slashdot's Stats by Markus_UW · · Score: 2, Funny

    You know, there are 2 kinds of people I hate in this world, people who are intolerant of others' religions, and those goddamn Muslims.

  9. Re:MOD PARENT UP by A+beautiful+mind · · Score: 1, Funny

    Speak for yourself.

    I can stare at arcane newspapers searching for secret encrypted messages and look at me! I'm perfectly sane.

    Now i just need to find my roommate, he doesn't seem to be around just right now...

    --
    It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
    Be yourself no matter what they say
  10. Re:BS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    I knocked on one guy's door, got no answer and found him asleep on the floor.

    That would be hilarious of someone walked in on him doing that and mistakenly thought he was dead

  11. Re:it's lunchtime! by martian67 · · Score: 1, Funny

    Hmm then wouldnt you have to have been wasting time surfing slashdot to FIND his post, and therefore guilty of the same crime...

    *HEAD EXPLODES*