BY MICHAEL BURKE
Journal Times | Posted: Thursday, November 22, 2007 12:00 am
If you work in an office of at least five people, on average one of them will regularly shop online at work this holiday season, according to a recent survey.
The survey was commissioned by Accountemps, a specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professions. The survey, conducted by an independent research firm, was based on telephone interviews with 539 workers 18 years of age or older and employed in an office environment.
Workers were asked, "During the holiday season, will you shop online while at work?" Twenty-one percent, or one in five, said yes, and 79 percent, or four in five, said no.
Those who answered "yes" also were asked, "On average, how many hours a week will you shop online at work for gifts during the holiday season?" The average response was 2.7 hours.
Jessica Malachowski, branch manager of Accountemps in Milwaukee, said the frequency of admissions of online shopping are likely to be quite accurate, "and probably on the conservative side."
"When you're looking at four out of five saying they will not shop online, they're going with their first answer," she commented. Some respondents may have been reluctant to answer yes, even if that's the more accurate answer.
The interesting thing, Malachowski said, is that people planned to spend nearly three hours a week at work doing online shopping. "If you have a team of five people, and one spends three hours, that can add up quite significantly.
"I think a lot of it is because the holidays put stress on people for their time, and the Internet is something everyone feels pretty comfortable with. They want to accomplish as much as possible in a short amount of time."
That thought was echoed by Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career For Dummies, second edition. "The holidays place demands on people's time, making it tempting to browse for gifts online while at work," he stated in a news release.
Accountemps provides the following advice for balancing work and personal obligations during the holiday season:
Know the rules. Most companies have policies that define appropriate employee use of their systems including Internet, voice mail, e-mail and instant messaging. Ask your manager for clarification if you have questions.
"A lot of organizations have very strict policies in regard to this," Malachowski said.
She also suggested giving your personal e-mail address - not the work e-mail address - when visiting a Web site. Otherwise, you may be flooded with spam and advertising offers at work.
Plan ahead. Consider how to effectively balance your time well in advance. You may decide, for example, to request a couple of days off to take care of errands before the holidays.
Don't procrastinate. Make vacation requests as early as possible to increase your chances of getting your desired days off.
If work is light around the holidays, use the time to organize for the coming year. Time spent clearing up clutter and updating contact lists, for example, can ensure a smooth return to work in January.
Malachowski added, "Be aware of the amount of time you're spending" on personal tasks at work. And, as a manager, you should lead by example."