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AR15.COM
7/11/2005 8:03:39 AM EDT
http://reuters.myway.com/article/20050711/2005-07-11T130717Z_01_N11381607_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-LIFE-WORKERS-WASTE-DC.html


U.S. workers say they waste 2 hours a day


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Jul 11, 9:07 AM (ET)


BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. workers say they squander over two hours a day at the workplace, with surfing the Web, socializing with co-workers and simply "spacing out" among the top time-wasting activities, according to a survey released on Monday.

Most U.S. companies assume about an hour of wasted time, but workers admit to actually frittering away more than twice as much time at a cost of $759 billion in annual paid salary that results in no apparent productivity, an online survey conducted by America Online and Salary.com showed.

Wasted time did not include the standard lunch hour.

Of 10,044 employee respondents, 33 percent said they engaged in time-wasting activities because they didn't have enough work to do. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed said they squandered their work hours because they were underpaid.

Men and women wasted an equal amount of time at work, but older workers were significantly more attentive than younger workers, the survey showed. Workers over 55 years old wasted an average of just 30 minutes a day, according to the survey.

Bill Coleman, senior vice president at Salary.com, said some time-wasting activities -- such as personal use of the Internet -- can be positive, resulting in new business ideas or a happier work environment.

"There is such a thing as creative waste," said Coleman. "Not all wasted time is bad."



7/11/2005 8:04:25 AM EDT
[#1]
I wish I just 'wasted' two hours a day.

Just the nature of my job though.
7/11/2005 8:07:10 AM EDT
[#2]
Hey I have some of my best ideas while spacing out and surfing the net.
Well ok more like most of my best grips about how crap is done around here come to me while I'm sufing the net or spacing out or talking with co-workers. Eventually the ideas and gripes get taken care of and things happen. It just takes 6 months to a year before anything is done, and than not so much because we brought it up, but because what we said could happen does. So it's not really wasted time, it's just time when some of the best ideas and bitches show up. It's not our fault the people above us are so slow in getting shit done.
7/11/2005 8:09:55 AM EDT
[#3]
7/11/2005 8:12:10 AM EDT
[#4]

Quoted:
U.S. workers say they waste 2 hours a day



Very conservative estimate, in most cases...
7/11/2005 8:44:40 AM EDT
[#5]
Only 2 hrs a day?  What rookies, If I dont waste at least 6 there is something seriously wrong!
7/11/2005 8:51:20 AM EDT
[#6]
Amatuers!
7/11/2005 9:09:33 AM EDT
[#7]
Does the study take into account how much time and salary management waste per day?
7/11/2005 9:10:41 AM EDT
[#8]
[Office Space] I'd say in a good week I get fifteen minutes of real work done. [/Office Space]
7/11/2005 9:10:54 AM EDT
[#9]
So what. We're all going to croak in the end. Waste all you can get away with. My boss sure does.
7/11/2005 11:14:23 AM EDT
[#10]
I would do more but I keep getting done.