Slacking off at work: The Internet makes it easy
It should come as little surprise that studies have found that people use the Internet to slack off at work:
Employees who cyberslack have been shown to spend most of their time emailing, and almost a third of their messages were not related to work … Many workers manage finances or shop online. Popular social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace are also common cyberslacking destinations. It is not uncommon to see a user write on his “status” report that he or she is “at work”. Some companies, which spend millions on Web access, have fired workers for cyberslacking, citing concerns about inappropriate activities. (via Reuters)
If a person is fulfilling their employment responsibilities, is there any problem with “slacking” by surfing the web or IMing friends occationally? Walter Block, a professor of economics at Loyola University notes in the article that Internet slacking is not much different than pre-Internet slacking. Is it somehow different? Can you even remember a time before the Internet? Frankly it’s now rather tough for me to imagine a world without the ‘net!
Perhaps most pointedly, do you find yourself “wasting time” on the web at work? If so, why and how do you use the Internet at work for non-work related things? Are you at work RIGHT NOW? :D
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I do remember a time pre-internet, and have worked at jobs where I was not in front of a computer all day…and people always manage to find a way to slack off. Some people just have a better work ethic than others, and limit their “personal” time at work whereas others lack that kind of control. I think morale and job satisfaction has a lot to do with how much someone slacks off at work. If you like your job and feel appreciated, you’d be less inclined to “waste” company time.
Personally, I don’t think it hurts as long as that person fulfills their job responsibilities.
The only time I get to be on the internet is at work because I do not own a computer at home. I do have some time to my self at work because of the way my work is scheduled. I have 40minute and 1hour incubation times during my work and those are the times that I use for internet.
What do you say? Am I at fault?
One thing our society continues to lose at a steady pace is a solid work ethic. In times past, it was a value that the employer pays me – and when I’m at work, I should be at work. Any time I take from my employer that is not work related would have been considered stealing. (I know – that’s a strong word). While it is true that not everyone has lost this work ethic, and maybe it’s less widespread than I think – but I do know if you talk to most employers, you would hear this mantra – ‘people don’t know how to work anymore.’
I feel old when I say this, because most in my generation would say that we haven’t lost our work ethic. But if we compare to the babyboomers, they would say we have. Personally, I’ve struggled to find what the work ethic has been replaced with – and I think it has been replaced with a “it is my right” type of thinking – a “sure my employer pays me” – but they don’t own me and what they don’t know doesn’t hurt them. “Going the second mile” is a very rare thing.
Research shows that employers lose many thousands of dollars a year just by employees taking extended coffees/lunches, personal phone calls, or personal emails/msns. I’ve been on both ends of the stick as an employee and now as a business owner. It is extremely frustrating to try and work with the entire concept because there has to be a mindset change. Changing how someone thinks is a very difficult thing to bring about. As a result of the overall labor shortages in Canada, and the change in work ethic, we now see business owners giving “attendance” and “retention” pay. In times past, this would have been unheard of. Policy makers have to state clearly what is allowed and not allowed regarding the use of the internet etc. Previously, it would have been more intuitive. (see 2005 article http://www.super-solutions.com/EmployeesWastingTime.asp)
Is it possible to not spend time at work on personal things? I think for the most part it is – but sometimes “life happens” and we must deal with personal things at work. However, defining and controlling what constitutes “life happening” might be a difficult thing to pin down.
(stepping down from my soap box)
As an employer the piece that employees often miss in their cyber escape from work, are the threats from the cites they visit or open their employers network to. While firewalls, spams protection, and virus scans available the hackers are still coming up with ways to cause problems with company computer systems. It isn’t just the employee computers that get infected, there are servers that connect the computers together.
Let’s remember this too, you are being paid to perform a job and you are using systems that you did not pay for to do it. There is always something that needs to be done at our company and I would be thrilled by an employee that, with their individual tasks completed, would help their fellow employees, ask for other work to do, or see what needs to be done and do it.
http://ricervatorium.spaces.live.com/blog
As a Christian finds the grace of God, they give, what is good in the eyes of God. And, this is good.
A Christian will not be weary, in this giving.
A non Christian, whom seeks to give, is giving from a heart of man, less than that of God. All though, the sacrifice is real, the non Christian feels loss, and expects, a return on their giving. This is not to be considered grace, and is outside of what God describes to us.
The non Christian has human value wrapped over the ‘giving’ intent. The Christian is weakened by each demand of acceptance. Deeds of human value, wrapped over the Godless intent. The intent: To be instead of God. All Christians are weakened at foundation, when they succumb, or, ‘give-in’, to false grace.
A Christian whom accepts self-motivated giving, from a non Christian, is doing two things; The Christian denies their Faith in the grace God provides. The Christian is by accepting this Godless grace is accommodating what is ‘less than God’, with acceptance! Now, you provide a godless value to your own Christianity, to, the motivations of less.
A Christian, in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, walks today, on dangerous and unknown ground. The patterns of non-Christian conformity have become Anti-Christian in resolve. Our very churches command ‘acceptance’, preaching a pretence of fallacious malconformity. The truth of our sacredness, is in the awareness of our disassembly.
The Anti Christians resolve, is pattern-able, and is simple to disregard. The Lord Jesus Christ attends to your human spirit, and aligns your intention in love, with the privilege of the Holy Spirit. This is the army of God, The love of the Messiah, strong through humanities Creator. What human can compare, what sin-filled lesser-God would presume to even attempt to persuade the beauty of God’s best intent.
If sins go unforgiven, they will gather, and they will assume they are welcome within you, and the world will seen to be less.
I believe that you shouldn’t use the Internet at work unless you are on your break.
Barb
P/S I WANT TO BE EMPLOYED. P/S HELP ME
Like many things in life, “moderation in everything” would be the rule. To create a zero tolerance environment where no one is allowed to use the internet for personal use creates a “big brother” environment that is poisonous to workplace morale, and at the same time, workers who waste/spend inordinate amounts of time (to be determined what level that would be, but I would say, more than 30 minutes a day) should be disciplined for that.