The Web at work

Internet access and the workplace continues to be a hot debate topic. As more workers are connected to the Internet and to several platforms (like Twitter and Facebook), technology is becoming a priority in the workplace.

A few recent news items about using the Internet at work piqued my interest.

Surfing the Web at work

The Pew Internet and American Life Project released the results of a survey they conducted this spring about workers and Internet use, and they came up with some fascinating figures, including:

27% of workers say they are on the Internet constantly while they’re at work, while another 22 precent access the Web several times a day.  Government workers were most likely to spend time on the Internet (72 percent).

As you might expect, 54 percent of those surveyed say that they check their personal e-mail while at work, which likely has companies concerned about Internet access affecting productivity.

For many of those workers, however, the opposite was also true. 50 percent of workers indicated that they checked work-related e-mail from their home computer on weekends. 22 percent of e-mail users and 48% of Blackberry and PDA owners say that they are expected to answer e-mails and messages even when they are not “on the clock.”

These results (you can see the entire report here) indicate a serious blurring of the line between work and home.

Fantasy football season

It’s fall. Fall means football, and football leads to fantasy football. Like the March Madness Brackets, picking your fantasy football team has become a favorite pastime at workplaces everywhere.

Fans of fantasy football are likely to take a direct hit to productivity. They may be completing their player roster, consulting co-workers or friends on the phone or in person about what players to pick, and spending time online surfing some of the major websites that host fantasy football games.

A recent article discussed this phenomenon, with some perspectives on whether encouraging fantasy football is a plus or minus in the workplace.

What’s your experience? Is Internet access at work a plus or a minus for you? Is there a clear boundary between work and home, or has technology blurred that line? And is fantasy football season impacting you or your office? Let us know!