Are you at work right now wasting time by reading this article? Don’t feel guilty – a new research study says Internet slacking at work can actually boost your productivity. Just explain that to your boss when he walks by.
A new study from the University of Melbourne found that surfing the net at work for pleasure actually increases our concentration levels and helps make a more productive workforce.
?People who do surf the Internet for fun at work – within a reasonable limit of less than 20% of their total time in the office – are more productive by about 9% than those who don?t,? says Dr. Brent Coker, from the Department of Management and Marketing.
According to the study of 300 workers, 70% of people who use the Internet at work engage in leisure browsing. Among the most popular activities are searching for information about products, reading online news sites. Playing online games was the fifth most popular, while watching YouTube movies was seventh.
?Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos on YouTube, using social networking sites like Facebook or shopping online under the pretense that it costs millions in lost productivity, however that?s not always the case.?
Goofing off at work for a bit helps with concentration. ?People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration. Think back to when you were in class listening to a lecture ? after about 20 minutes your concentration probably went right down, yet after a break your concentration was restored,” says Dr. Coker.
?It?s the same in the work place. Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days work, and as a result, increased productivity.?
So there you go: keep reading Just A Guy Thing and feel no guilt.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:57 am
I agree with this research. But there is a key factor: the 20%. If this limit is exceeded i don’t think we will talk about productivity any more. And regarding the employer these depends from person to person. My computer and internet activity is monitored with a software but even if i send some time online i always mad my work and i had never problems.