11 January 2006
Workers are spending more than a quarter of their time on the internet on non-work related activity, with extroverts leading the way in cyber-slacking, a study by Monash University researchers has found.
The study, Internet Use and Misuse in the Workplace, investigated the prevalence of workplace 'cyber-slacking' and the role of personality in determining employees' use of the internet.
The term "cyber-slacking" was first used in 1999 and refers to staff who use their work internet access for personal reasons while maintaining the appearance of working.
Dr James Phillips and Miss Kerryann Wyatt from Monash's School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, assessed the internet use of 83 participants. They looked at five personality traits - neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness - and their potential for predicting internet use.
The study found that people with extroverted personalities sent more work and non work-related emails, while people with less agreeable personalities were likely to spend more time on the internet. People who were open to experience were more likely to spend time searching the net for work-related reasons.
Miss Wyatt said the study showed that cyber-slacking could seriously affect workplace productivity, with participants reporting they spent more than a quarter of their time on the internet on non-work related tasks.
"Extroverted employees particularly are abusing their internet privileges, spending reduced amounts of time working and so reducing productivity," she said.
"Whether this is simply to socialize, to procrastinate or to stimulate themselves is not clear, but it is likely to have a significantly negative impact on the workplace."
Miss Wyatt said the most mundane applications -- sending emails and general internet searches -- were being abused, possibly because of a lack of supervisor awareness or inadequate policies dealing with internet use.
For more information contact Ms Diane Squires in the Media Communications Office on +613 9905 9315 or 0417 603 400.
| 
