Network Computing reporter Andrew Conry-Murray has a novel idea for reducing time wasted in the workplace. Kill off access to the web. This is a reaction to a salary.com survey. Andrew says:
The biggest time waster is Web surfing, according to 44.7 percent of respondents. Therefore, if we are to believe Salary.com’s figures, personal Web use costs businesses approximately $364 billion a year. (Socializing with coworkers was rated the second biggest time waster, at 23.4 percent. That’s a loss of approximately $174 billion
Now I know the piece was written a tad tongue in cheek and was categorised under Business Strategy but it’s an asinine idea. Even though I’d be surprised if some practitioners haven’t already thought about this.
If implemented, such policies effectively cut off the oxygen for the information age. And in any event, time wasting is not the issue here. What about productivity? What about learning? Who’s to say the MySpace generation won’t be reasonably productive running IM sessions with their mates while working? My son doesn’t seem to have a problem and he’s motivated to get his homework done before he gets to meet his girlfriend. He’s 15 going on 25. And his grades aren’t suffering.
Needless to say, some people are taking this seriously – for which read the comments to Andrew’s post.
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