Don't let your boss catch you reading this

By Corinne Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters)

If you are at work, chances are you are probably doing it right now.

Walk into any large office, and you will most likely hear the telltale computer bleeps of chat programs and online games, accompanied by furious mouse-clicking. Employees may seem busy, but many are wasting time on the Internet, or "cyberslacking".

Studies worldwide suggest employees spend about a fifth of their work shifts engaging in personal activities. Their favorite time waster? The Internet.

Patricia Wallace, author of the 2004 book "The Internet in the Workplace: How New Technology Is Transforming Work", said employees have always found ways to avoid working too hard.

"The issue is now you have something that seems to be genuinely irresistible because it's such a gateway to the whole planet that's right there on your desk and easily concealed to people passing by," said Wallace, a professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Employees who cyberslack have been shown to spend most of their time emailing, and almost a third of their messages were not related to work, said James Philips, a psychology professor at Australia's Monash University.

Many workers manage finances or shop online. Popular social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace are also common cyberslacking destinations. It is not uncommon to see a user write on his "status" report that he or she is "at work".

Some companies, which spend millions on Web access, have fired workers for cyberslacking, citing concerns about inappropriate activities. But hiding it has become easier -- people can access the Internet through cellphones, for instance.

Films and television shows have been focusing on the phenomenon. 

Time-wasting at work was spoofed in the 1999 cult film "Office Space," while "The Office", a British TV comedy that now has a U.S. version, has shown characters playing a computer war game as part of what they described as a team-building exercise.

"YOU EAT LIKE A PIG!"

Walter Block, a professor of economics at Loyola University in New Orleans, pointed to similarities between employees who slacked off before the computer age and those who waste time in cyberspace.

"I think they do it for the same reason they did it before -- some people, because they're cheating their boss, other people, because it helps them work," Block said.

Office-dedicated Web sites have been popping up.

Workers can go to www.overheardintheoffice.com to post and rate humorous quotes overheard at their workplaces. They can rant about office colleagues and bosses at www.annoyingcoworker.com -- and email them anonymous messages through the Web site.

"UGH! You eat like a pig!" one person wrote. "Stop smacking your lips and licking your fingers and snorting while you eat chips two feet away from me! It's like feeding time at the zoo!"

A recent survey by online compensation firm Salary.com showed about six out of 10 employees in the United States acknowledged wasting time at work.

About 34 percent listed personal Internet use as the leading time-wasting activity in the workplace. Employees said they did so because they were bored, worked too many hours, were underpaid or were unchallenged at work.

Firms all over the world are concerned about potentially harmful effects of surfing they deem to be inappropriate may have on their company's image. Many firms use computer software to monitor Web activity and block certain sites or servers.

Almost a fifth of those surveyed in a 2006 Israeli-American poll said they accessed online sex sites at work.

U.S.-based electronics firm IBM once fired an employee for visiting an adult chat room at work. Last year, a New York City employee was fired by Mayor Michael Bloomberg for having a card game on his computer screen.

Some experts say private Internet use at work does not affect productivity and could even be beneficial.

"The so-called cyberslacking could be online shopping or arranging for your dog-sitter online or taking care of banking so you don't have to take a two-hour lunch," Wallace said. "In cases like that, you're actually helping employees save time".

别让你的老板发现你正在看本文

如果你在公司工作，很可能你正在做着我们要谈论的这件事。

走进任何一家公司你都会听到，伴随着急速的鼠标点击，电脑发出聊天软件或者在线游戏的哔哔声。员工们看起来很忙碌，但其实很多人都是在浪费时间，或者叫“电子休闲”。世界范围的研究表明，员工们将五分之一的工作时间花费在私人事情上。要问他们最喜欢的打发时间的玩意？就是互联网了。

Patricia Wallace是Baltimore的Johns Hopkins大学的教授,他在其2004年的新书《办公室里的互联网：新科技如何改变工作》中指出：员工们总能找到办法来避免工作过于繁重。“问题在于这真是一件难以抗拒的事，因为在你桌上就有一道连通这个世界的门，而且很简单就可以不让周围的人察觉到你在做什么”Wallace说。他是Baltimore的Johns Hopkins大学的教授。澳大利亚Monash大学的心理学教授James Philips说：参与“电子休闲”的员工们显示出他们花很大一部分时间来收发电子邮件，而且有三分之一的邮件是与工作无关的。许多员工在网上理财或者经营电子商务。倍受欢迎的社交网站如Facebook和MySpace同样是喜欢“网络休闲”的目的地，看到用户们的在线状态是“工作中”很常见。有的公司花费数百万来控制网络访问的权限，并且以“不适当的行为”为理由解雇了那些参与到“电子休闲”里的员工。但是要隐藏自己的上网行为已经越来越容易，例如人们可以通过手机来上网。

电影和电视已经把焦点对准了这样的现象。1999年的邪典电影(cult film的意义难以说明,参看 http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/4836103.html )"Office Space"讽刺了工作中浪费时间的行为.与此同时,英国的电视喜剧"The Office" - 目前已经有了美国版本 - 展现了一群在办公室玩战略游戏的人物,他们把自己的行为称为"团队锻炼".

New Orleans Loyola大学的经济学教授Walter Block指出了计算机出现以前工作中的“传统休闲”和目前“电子休闲”的相似之处。“我认为这些人这么做的原因是相同的，因为

他们欺骗老板，欺骗其他人，或因为这能帮助他们工作。”

面向办公室的网站也已出现，员工们可以登上www.overheardintheoffice.com网站来公布和评论他们在办公室偶尔听到的幽默的话。他们可以在www.annoyingcoworker.com网站上大声数落自己的同事或者老板，并用匿名邮件发给他们。

。“哈，你的吃相和猪一样！”某人说。“不要再咂你的嘴，舔你的手指，流你的鼻涕！在你吃薯片时离我远点！这像是动物园的喂食时间！”

最近，在线人力资源公司Salary.com的调查表明，在美国，10个员工中有6个承认在工作的时候浪费时间。在办公室里大约有34%的网络使用都是浪费时间的行为。雇员们说他们这样做是因为他们很无聊，他们工作时间太长，他们报酬太低，他们的工作没有挑战性。

全世界的公司都担心浏览网页会对公司造成的潜在的危害。许多公司用计算机软件来监控网络活动并且屏蔽一些网站或者服务器。在2006年的一项对以色列裔美国人的调查表明，差不多有五分之一的人在工作的时候上色情网站。在以美国人为主的IBM公司，曾经有一名员工因为在工作时间访问成人聊天室而遭到解雇，另一名纽约雇员因为玩纸牌游戏而被Mayor Michael Bloomberg解雇。

一些专家表明，工作时使用互联网做私事不但不会降低生产效率，反而能提高效率。“所谓的'电子休闲'可能是在网上购物，或者是安排人照顾他们的宠物，或者理财，这样你就不会花两个小时来吃午饭了”Wallace说，“因此，这样实际上是帮助员工节省了时间”。