|
According
to a
new
survey
by
America
Online
and
Salary.com,
summarized
by
Dan
Malachowski,
the
average
worker
admits
to
wasting
2.09
hours
per
8-hour
workday,
not
including
lunch
and
scheduled
break-time.
The
survey
indicates
that
employees
are
wasting
about
twice
as
much
time
as
their
employers
expect.
Salary.com
calculated
that
employers
spend
$759
billion
per
year
on
salaries
for
which
real
work
was
expected,
but
not
actually
performed.
The
biggest
distraction
is
personal
Internet
use
by
44.7%
of
the
more
than
10,000
people
polled.
Socializing
with
co-workers
came
in
second
at
23.4%.
Conducting
personal
business,
"spacing
out,"
running
errands,
and
making
personal
phone
calls
were
the
other
popular
time-wasting
activities
in
the
workplace.
| |
Top Time-Wasting Activities |
% of Respondents |
| 1 |
Surfing Internet (personal use) |
44.7% |
| 2 |
Socializing with co-workers |
23.4% |
| 3 |
Conducting personal business |
6.8% |
| 4 |
Spacing out |
3.9% |
| 5 |
Running errands off-premises |
3.1% |
| 6 |
Making personal phone calls |
2.3% |
| 7 |
Applying for other jobs |
1.3% |
| 8 |
Planning personal events |
1.0% |
| 9 |
Arriving late / Leaving early |
1.0% |
| 10 |
Other |
12.5% |
| Source: AOL/Salary.com, June 2005 |
Employees
say
they're
not
always
to
blame
for
this
wasted
time,
however.
33.2%
of
respondents
cited
lack
of
work
as
their
biggest
reason
for
wasting
time.
23.4%
said
they
wasted
time
at
work
because
they
feel
as
if
they
are
underpaid
(if
this
applies
to
you,
click
on
the
Salary
Wizard
to
find
out
what
you
are
worth).
| |
Top Time-Wasting Excuses |
% of Respondents |
| 1 |
Don't have enough work to do |
33.2% |
| 2 |
Underpaid for amount of work |
23.4% |
| 3 |
Co-workers distract me |
14.7% |
| 4 |
Not enough after-work time |
12.0% |
| 5 |
Other |
16.7% |
| Source: AOL/Salary.com, June 2005 |
According
to a
Salary.com
follow-up
survey
of
Human
Resource
managers,
companies
assume
employees
waste
0.94
hours
per
day,
managers
suspect
that
employees
waste
1.6
hours
per
day,
but
employees
admit
to
wasting
2.09
hours
per
day.
Salary.com's
Senior
Vice
President
Bill
Coleman,
says
"To
some
bosses,
that's
a
startling
figure.
Others,
though,
will
view
this
extra
wasted
time
that
may
well
have
a
positive
impact
on
the
company's
culture,
work
environment,
and
even
business
results."
The
Older
People
Are,
The
Less
Time
They
Waste
At
Work:
| Year of Birth |
Time Wasted Per Day |
| 1930-1949 |
0.50 hrs. |
| 1950-1959 |
0.68 hrs. |
| 1960-1969 |
1.19 hrs. |
| 1970-1979 |
1.61 hrs. |
| 1980-1985 |
1.95 hrs. |
| Source: AOL/Salary.com, June 2005 |
The
report
concludes
with
The
average
yearly
American
salary
is
$39,795
per
year
- or
$19.13
per
hour.
If
the
average
worker
wastes
1.15
hours
more
than
employers
suspect,
per
8-hour
work
day,
that
adds
up
to
$5,720
per
year,
per
worker
in
wasted
salary
dollars.
So
with
the
American
workforce
132
million
(non-farm)
employees
strong,
the
total
in
lost
salary
dollars
adds
up
to
$759
billion
per
year.
More
information
about
the
study
results
is
here
at
salary.com.
Research
Brief
http://www.centerformediaresearch.com/cfmr_brief.cfm?fnl=050721
(c)
2005
MediaPost
Communications,
1140
Broadway,
4th
Floor,
New
York,
NY
10001 |
