Workers may be more productive if allowed to surf the Internet
A University of Melbourne study found 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,” the author says. This is because “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.”
Some CITS students and affiliates recently completed a chapter on the topic of destructive use of communication technologies in the workplace which includes a survey of similar research.
Flanagin, A. J., Pearce, K., & Bondad-Brown, B. (in press). The destructive potential of electronic communication technologies in organizations. In P. Lutgen-Sandvik & B. Davenport-Sypher (Eds.), The destructive side of organizational communication: Processes, consequences, and constructive ways of organizing. Mahwah, NJ: Routledge/LEA.
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