Slacking at Work

Times of India is carrying a piece on time wasted at work...Point in reference - "People waste more than two hours a day slacking at work, according to a study. It's no different here ". The average worker wastes more than two hours a day, excluding lunch, according to a new Web survey in the US. About 10,000 people responded to the poll, with 41 per cent saying that the number one way they waste time is personal Internet use and responding to online polls. The second most popular way, according to 23 per cent, was socialising with coworkers. Other ways included personal business, spacing out, running errands and making personal phone calls.

Some interesting counter arguments:

• "Most people work from 8.30 am to 8 pm, which is more than required. That compensates for the time wasted."



• "I work more than my eight hour schedule, so if I spend some time talking to my coworkers, there's nothing wrong. It's important to know what's happening in other departments."



• Bill Coleman, one of the researchers maintains that some of the wasted time could be considered helpful, as conversations and personal Internet use can lead to new business ideas.



• "How do you motivate employees to achieve an emotional end state? Be innovative. Make them happy. Fun at work is an outcome of our belief that the core of delivering client delight is happy, passionate and highly motivated employees. We feel that, mature responsible adults know when to go beyond the call of their duty and when to take it easy."