WooT … Leisure Net Surfing Gets More Work Done
Jul 10th, 2009 by Steven
Are you one of those who are ‘guilty’ of Tweeting, YouTubing, FaceBooking, shopping online or watching e-news while at work? Regardless if you answer a resounding YES or a meekly NO, read this …
A recent study shows that surfing the internet at work for leisure actually increases our concentration level and hence, more productive performance. According to Dr Brent Coker, from the University of Melbourne’s Department of Management and Marketing, 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.” wOOt, wOOt.
The findings of the study of 300 workers show that 70% of people who use the Internet at work engage in WILB. The most popular WILB activities are searching for information about products and reading online news sites. Playing online games was ranked 5th. Watching YouTube movies was 7th most popular.
Dr Coker says the attraction of WILB 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 Net, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a day’s work, and as a result, increased productivity.”
However, browsing should be done in moderation. Internet addiction produces the reverse effect. Internet Junkies don’t take breaks at appropriate times, spend more than a ‘normal’ amount of time online, and can get irritable if they are interrupted while surfing. Workers with internet addiction tendencies will have a lower productivity.
(Source: http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/news/5750/)