Websurfing Damaging U.S. Productivity?

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?"

Comments

answer work e-mail at home?"

[Threni]

> where's the calculation of how much time we all spend answer work e-mail at
> home?"

Uh...zero. Why would I want to answer work email at home. I don't, nor do I answer phone calls from work on my mobile when I've left work. If they want to arrange paying me to do either, that's fine, but they haven't. I'm suprised this is even an issue.

Re:answer work e-mail at home?"

[YomikoReadman]

Agreed all the way. Most people seem to have the thought in their heads 'If I make myself a slave to my job, I'll get promoted faster and get more payraises.'. I'd kindly like to throw the BS flag on that one; all it does is encourage your employer to walk all over you and wring you for everything you're worth.

To the GP, advancing yourself at work is accomplished by showing up, doing what needs to get done, and doing it well. If you want to put forth extra effort into your job, then I'd suggest accomplishing tasks in less time than was alloted, and then utilizing your extra time to further your own skillsets, or looking for more work to do. Helping folks around your shop is never a bad thing either. However, I'll reiterate that making yourself a slave to your job, while it will get you noticed, is really just a good way to make you hate where you work.

Of course....

[wpiman]

Ars Technica is going to attempt to debunk that fact that web surfing hurts productivity. A good portion of their readership, hence ad revenues, comes from people who are surfing at work.

Good business sense, don't talk your business model down.

Work email at home?

[nmg196]

> where's the calculation of how much time we all spend
> answer work e-mail at home?

Err probably zero.

How many companies...
1. Bother to set up their email systems so that the employees can use it from home.
2. Then train their employees on how to set it up on their home machine or use the webmail.
3. Have employees which actually DO check their mail from home AND reply even when someone's set it all up for them?

I'm guessing a single digit percentage at most.

On the other hand, how many employees surf the web for non work purposes while at work? Probably the vast majority.

BS

[CrazyTalk]

Old timer chiming in here - I was working in the days before the internet (or more correctly the world wide web and the common availability of email). You know what? We found time to goof off then too. I think there is a certain amount of time a person is likely to do actual work during the day and a certain amount of time they need to/will goof off - it's just the method of goofing off has changed. Now we surf the web and exchange emails. In the 1980s and earlier people would take coffee breaks, cigarette breaks, read magazines or newspapers, talk to their families and friends on the phone, talk to their cube neighbors, etc. People need that time during the day to decompress, and maybe even have their subconscious work on a problem for awhile after they have been intensly focused on it. Time spent not working hasnt changed - its just spent differently.

Re:BS

[Wansu]

it's just the method of goofing off has changed

Some people still goof off the old fashioned way. One of my coworkers seems to be on the phone constantly. I see people reading magazines. There's a guy with a guitar in his office. People zone out and listen to iPods. I knocked on one guy's door, got no answer and found him asleep on the floor.

There was one guy who camped out in the handicapped stall in the restroom and read the EE Times and the newspaper. Our boss used to take notice of what kind of shoes this guy wore because he might have to go looking at feet in the stalls to find him. Another old redneck technician said, "He's gon' git th' hem-a-roids frum settin' in'are sa'long."

Mandatory overtime

[EWIPlayer]

I've said this before... when companies mandate unpaid overtime (and i know there are a lot of you out there that are affected by this in one way or another), what do companies expect?

Companies show time and time again that what they care about is "who's at the office?". Not "How smart do they work?" or "How much do they get done?" but simply whether the parking lot is full after 5pm.

Goofing off during those mandatory "overtime" hours is not only a healthy "fuck you" to the establishment but also the only way to slow the burnout rate.

Ah, but what's the burnout of one more "resource" (a wonderful term that is about as slimy as "It's not personal, it's just business") when compared with a better bottom line?

Figures just a little high, perhaps?

[pegasustonans]

$178 billion a year to web surfing in the workplace

So, basically what they're saying is that if everyone stopped web-surfing at work, then we'd have enough money to build a space elevator and kick-start a Mars colony. Somehow, those numbers seem a little high to me. But, even if it were true, all the extra cash would most likely go into a bunch of a-holes pockets who would then use it buy another Mercedes or two. So, what was the point of this research again?

Surfing time is NON-FUNGIBLE!

[Ancient_Hacker]

Love the word fungible. It means something like "exchangeable for similar things". Web surfing is NON-FUNGIBLE. That means if we were not web-surfing, as a respite from the stress of working with computers, we'd NOT be working, we'd be walking to the vending machines, looking out the window at the girls, or otherwise unwinding from the daily headaches.

it's lunchtime!

[Cederic]

I'm posting this during my lunch break.

Then again, I'm salaried. I got here at 7.35am, I'll leave some time this evening. 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.

What I'll also do is meet my commitments. I have meetings to attend, documents to write, deadlines to meet. I'll do all these things. I'm paid to do these things.

If the cricket makes me take longer to write a document, I'll stay a little later to get it finished. Sure, that's impacting on my non-work time - but since I'm letting my personal desire to watch cricket outweigh the need to do work it's a fair exchange.

Is there productivity loss? On an 'output per hour' basis, definitely. But on an 'output per month' basis, there's a productivity gain. By taking a relaxed approach to my job I can sustain my working patterns without getting stressed, killing people, taking time off ill, etc.

More to the point, I get my work done. My employer loves me. Life is good. And I get to watch the cricket.

Are results accomplished?

[Himring]

I am of the firm belief -- having a boss myself and then people under me that I delegate to -- that if someone produces the work I've requested in a timely manner, and that if I in turn produce for my boss, then I really don't care what else that person might be doing during the day. The best work environment is one where there is trust -- as in any human relationship. Whenever a marriage or a work place turns into one of distrust, where one is held accountable for all minutes and hours of the day -- where you were, what you were doing -- then the relationship simply isn't worth keeping. Give people tasks, give them a deadline, and then leave them alone. Take away the web and they'll do crossword puzzles, or do their nails or talk on their cell phones. If nothing else, they'll sit and stare. Someone who will not complete tasks will not complete tasks with or without the Internet. As a matter of fact, that same Internet just might help them do their job....

Re:Guilty as charged

[fshalor]

I even put down "google" skills as a job requirement.

Now, sure, I surf at work for fun/pleasure/personal (*Not* that type of pleasure!)

But what about the time I've saved googling faster than a speeding library trip.

Not to mention all the online howtoos and news groups which have "real" solutions to real problems. /. , and BOFH should be required reading for any IT job. ;)

Time != Productivity

[blueZhift]

When are people going to realize that more time spent "working" does not mean more productivity. The real measure of productivity is whether or not assigned goals are met on schedule. So which is better, the guy who comes early, stays late and looks like a hard worker but never delivers on his projects, or the gal who seems to be on the web all the time, leaves early, but has the uncanny ability to deliver good work consistently? Which one of these will make the company more profit?

Everyone on /. knows how easy it is to look like you're working hard, but truly delivering the goods is another matter.

Kind of

[Apreche]

Web surfing doesn't really destroy my productivity. I write software for a living. I work from 9-5 every day. I can't really write code straight from 9-5 with a lunch break. It can't be done. I get most of my work done early in the day, then my rate of work slows down. Every once in awhile while I'm thinking I'll hit the news and other sites. I don't do a lot of e-mail, but I do a lot of IM.

Basically, I do as much work as I can in a day. If there wasn't the web and such to occupy time I would be twiddling thumbs or reading a book in that other time.

If I had a job that was just 9-1 every day I would get the same amount of work done since that time would be solid full productivity work. I would also be much happier with that kind of schedule. But nobody is willing to pay me the same amount to work 9-1 even though the result of my work would be nearly identical to me working 9-5. Four hours every day wasted. Hurts me more than it hurts the company.

Another bit

[be-fan]

If we're going to count the amount of time I spend thinking about Slashdot at work, how about we count the amount of time I sit thinking about work on my personal time? When I'm working on a project, code is going through my head all the time. I'll be in the shower thinking about an algorithm, or eating dinner trying to figure out where a bug came from. When it gets bad, I'll be trying to get to sleep, but I'll be distracted by code. When I finally do get to sleep, I'll dream about code. I'd like to see a study done about this...

Re:In Other News...

[dusik]

Yeah, it pisses me off that I spend $4/day in gas just to go to work! Never mind the miles I'm putting on my car. It only makes sense to recoup the time=money on /. :)

*flips to next excuse...*

Nobody caught this?

[kilodelta]

"Websense, a company that develops web filtering and blocking software for schools and offices, is behind a study that's trumping up the costs of online surfing. First, their claims:"

Most of what we take as news today is actually a press release being used to stimulate business. Of course Websense would see that illicit browsing is up, they want to sell product.

The same has been proven true of the "Year of the Suit" campaign. Turns out that Gentleman's Wearhouse had been cranking out PR's stating that suits were back in, etc.

It's all advertising pretending to be news. The minute you see a specific company name in a supposed news article you know it's a press release.

So it's hype. Don't worry about it.