Study finds that cyber-loafing at work increases productivity

Title : Study finds that cyber-loafing at work increases productivity
By :
Date : 11 September 2008 1020 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/lifestylenews/view/375152/1/.html

SINGAPORE: Men in Singapore do it for nearly an hour at work; women for 46 minutes. It’s called cyber-loafing, and most employees surveyed claim it actually helps them work better.

While employers have long worried over the man-hours lost and productivity costs due to staff engaged in personal emailing or browsing the Internet, some recent studies - including that done by two members of the NUS Business School’s Department of Management and Organisation - have found that workers in fact see such loafing as helpful.

Three in four local survey respondents agreed that it made work “more interesting”, while 57 per cent said it helped them deal with practical and personal issues at work.

What is interesting is the gender divide: Women tend to feel cyberloafing distracts them from work, postponing deadlines and completing less work. Men, however, are far more likely to claim a positive effect on their work.

The study based on a mail survey of 191 respondents - mostly young, single degree-holders - was done by Associate Professor Vivien Lim and Mr Don Chen. Most felt it was fine to cyber-loaf for 75 minutes daily at the office.

On the finding that this could help workers, the authors wrote: “One plausible reason is that browsing activities provided employees with an avenue of escape from work stress.”

They suggested that this could motivate them to perform better, and that companies should thus allow employees leeway to indulge in such non-work related online activities.

And just what are workers doing on the Internet at work?

Personal emailing, instant messaging and visiting news websites rank high on the list - although men are more likely than women to also browse sports websites.

But playing games, shopping and looking for another job online were low down the ladder. The reason? Respondents “found it difficult to rationalise that looking for employment online and engaging in online games would help them become more productive in their work,” said the authors.

So who most easily makes the switch from cyber-loafing back to work?

The men - they took four minutes compared with 10 minutes for women. “Studies have found that men are better in multi-tasking and find it easier to compartmentalise work and non-work demands,” said the authors.

Earlier studies done in the United States, such as those by WebSense.com, showed that the average time spent on non-work-related cyber-activities was about 10 hours per employee a week. - TODAY/ra