[icernet] Study reveals business overpowers pleasure online

[Arul Selvan]

If employers are annoyed that employees use the Internet for fun at the office, they should know that those with Web access at home spend even more time doing work from their houses, reports the Washington Post. The study, conducted by the Center for E-Service at the University of Maryland in conjunction with Rockbridge Associates, Inc., found that workers spend two more hours each week doing work at home than they do using the office computer for non-work related matters. It's the workers without home Web access that take the most advantage, spending up to 6.5 hours a week on non-work related Web pursuits with no homework time to counterbalance it. Charles Colby, president of Rockbridge Associates and co-author of the study says that the Web's accessibility can blur the line between work time and personal time. "People may do things [on the Internet] at work, and then feel they should compensate for that at home," said Colby. "Or they may work late on a work pr
oject, and then go into the office anyway and feel, 'Well, I'm entitled to go check ESPN.com today." However, some companies believe the Internet can be a detriment to office productivity, so they've installed software to police employees' personal time online.

Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26443-2003Feb4.html