The Internet is so commonly used nowadays that it’s no surprise the boundaries between work and leisure have become increasingly blurred. We take a look at how employees balance work and play, and what can be done to minimise the IT version of loafing.

By How Kay Lii

It’s 5 p.m. and you’re totally engrossed in the various windows open on your office PC– instant messaging with your crush, checking your eBay bid for that gorgeous vintage dress, reading your best friend’s blog, and browsing the latest travel promotions. Oh, and one Excel spreadsheet where you’re supposed to input the latest research findings by the end of day.

Suddenly your boss’ door opens and hurriedly you minimise all the non-work related windows and pretend to be absorbed in the spreadsheet, face flushed. Sounds like a familiar scenario?

Everyone does it
Truth is, everyone uses the Internet during working hours for personal interests nowadays. According to a research study done in 2002 by the Association for Computing Machinery of 188 working Singaporeans, nearly 80% of respondents admitted to surfing non-work related websites at least a few times a month, with up to 27% doing it a few times a day. A study by SurfWatch also found that costs incurred from loss of employee productivity can reach as much as $1 billion a year.

Employees mostly use the Internet for checking personal emails, surfing news and sports websites, downloading non-work related information, and online shopping. Karen Mah, a 27- year-old website editor adds instant messaging to the list.

“Everyone uses MSN now don’t they? But it’s really to help work correspondence!” laughs Karen. She relates how even her bosses use MSN to communicate with the staff. “It’s better than walking all the way over to our desks, or shouting across the room.”

However, she draws the line at downloading media files. “That’s too risky, you never know if the bosses are tracking Internet activity.”

All interviewees stated “relaxation” as the main reason for using the Internet at work. Terence Chong explains, “Nobody can concentrate solely on work the whole day, it’s too tiring and mundane. Using the Internet is not so much slacking as taking some time out to relax.”

“Some people take smoke breaks, me, I take Internet-surfing breaks. What’s the difference?” adds the 29-yearold auditor.

Teo Meng Soon also feels that since he takes home some of his work to do, it’s all right to spend some time at work doing “personal things” like surfing his favourite soccer websites.

“I spend about an hour or two a night at home doing research for my work, so I think it’s reasonable that I spend some time at work reading soccer news. It adds up to the same anyway,” said the 28-year-old data analyst.

Yet, the pervading sense of guilt is still palpable. The furtive looks over shoulders to check if anyone spotted the brief venture into eBay speaks volumes about how employees view using the Internet at work. Marketing executive Desmond Lim said, “I’m sure my boss wouldn’t like it if he saw us surfing the Net instead of doing our jobs.”

“Everyone knows it’s wrong, but everyone still does it. Frankly, I bet my boss does it too!” laughs the 31-year-old.

Most interviewees are of the opinion that as long as they finished their work on time, using the Internet during working hours is acceptable. However, they also concede that the time they spend using the Internet could have been better spent on improving their work. Interviewees estimate spending about 30% of their working hours per day on the Internet, with the start of the day, the hours before and after lunch, and towards the end of the day being the preferred timings.

“My brain hasn’t woken up so early in the morning, so I spend that time doing more ‘brainless’ things like reading blogs and online shopping. Nearing lunch time and knock-off, the mood to work is gone, so I’d do the ‘brainless’ things again,” explains Patricia Leong, a 24-year-old public relations consultant.

Most companies do not have a written regulation pertaining to the use of Internet at work for personal interests, but the unspoken rule is clear – cross the line, and be prepared to face the consequences.

“I’ve not heard of anyone being fired yet, but I did witness my boss reprimanding a fellow worker. I guess she was overdoing it,” said Patricia.

Since there are no formal regulations, bosses have to depend on the integrity of their employees.

Mrs Ooi Siu Jin, a 42-year-old public relations manager, tries to instill responsibility in her staff. “I don’t forbid them because I understand that everyone needs to take breaks, but I do remind them that their responsibilities should come first. Some people can multi-task very well, but not everyone can, so they must exercise self-discipline.”

Mrs Ooi’s company also utilises firewalls to curb excessive use of the office Internet bandwidth, as well as blocking certain undesirable sites.

“The management decided on such measures to make sure, at least, that no one is downloading big files or using any P2P (peer-to-peer) software,” explains Mrs Ooi.

But what if an employee grossly abused the Internet at work?

“Well then disciplinary action would have to be taken. If the employee is unproductive and a liability to the company, we might decide to let the employee go,” Mrs Ooi said.

Employees generally agree that they do not mind the company regulating Internet usage at work, in fact, some approve of it.

“Knowing that someone’s watching ensures that people don’t take advantage of the situation,” said Desmond.

It seems like both employers and employees accept the fact that Internet usage at work is already the status quo, but moderation must be practiced. So long as work is completed and of a satisfactory standard, taking some time out for leisure is fair enough. After all, as Patricia says, “the Internet is evidence of the progress of time; the culture of the workplace must progress accordingly as well!”

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