Could have told you that years ago
From the
University of Melbourne:
Freedom to surf: workers more productive if allowed to use the internet for leisure
Dr Brent Coker, from the Department of Management and Marketing, says that workers who engage in �Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing� (WILB) are more productive than those who don�t.
�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,� he says.
�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.�
According to the study of 300 workers, 70% of people who use the Internet at work engage in WILB. Among the most popular WILB 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.
The attraction of WILB, according to Dr Coker, can be attributed to people�s imperfect 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.
�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.�
I wonder how many times this has been printed out and taped to the cubicle wall...
Posted by DaveH at April 2, 2009 5:15 PM