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Surfing for fun during work increases productivity

Sat 17 September 2011

, Melissa J. Anderson, www.theglasshammer.com

We’ve all been there before. It’s Friday. The day is dragging on. You’ve got a massive amount of work staring at you between now and dinner. The weather outside is gorgeous. But…

You’re inside, and the buzz of the fluorescent lights above is giving you a headache. You look around – everyone’s got their head down, minding their own business. You know you shouldn’t, but you open up your web browser. You click over to your local newspaper’s web site, your favorite celebrity gossip forum, or (gasp) Facebook, and spend 10 minutes joyfully killing time. You quickly minimize the window when a coworker walks by, and get back to work – refreshed and ready to tackle the task at hand.
Don’t feel guilty though. According to a new study, surfing the web at work (or “cyberloafing”) is actually good for your productivity. And the reason may surprise you.

Surfing the Internet Improves Productivity

The research, by Don J.Q. Chen and Vivien K.G Lim of the National University of Singapore, was presented last month at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management in Texas, and it showed that surfing the web was even more effective at improving productivity than taking a break to do other personal activities like sending text messages or talking on the phone.
Read more: http://www.theglasshammer.com/news/2011/09/09/hey-cyberloafer-get-back-to-work/