[jsfg_cinti] Job hunting on company time

Job hunting on company time
One-fourth of workers admit to online job search at work

By Andrea Coombes, MarketWatch
Last Update: 11:01 PM ET Mar 26, 2006


SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- One-fourth of employees who use a computer at 
work say they've looked for a new job online, according to a survey 
conducted for Hudson, a staffing and consulting firm.
Younger workers are likelier than their older counterparts to surf online 
job sites: 33% of workers 18 to 29 years old said they've searched for a new 
job online while at work.
That's compared with 21% of those age 40 to 49 and 15% of those age 50 to 
64, according to the survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports of almost 2,700 
U.S. workers who use computers at work. The margin of error is +/-3%.
But employers shouldn't overreact to those online job hunts, warned Kris 
Rzepkowski, interactive manager at Hudson North America. Hudson is a 
division of New York-based Hudson Highland Group Inc.

While workers should avoid conducting a job search on the company's dime, 
Rzepkowski says companies should temper their reaction if they find an 
employee searching an online job site, rather than consider firing that 
worker. "Employees are not naïve enough to think they'll be with one company 
forever, especially if they're having a bad day," he said. Employers should 
recognize that and use it as a growth opportunity," he said. That means 
talking with the employee about any job or work-life balance problems or 
concerns, he said.

Just 12% of workers overall said they surf the Internet for personal reasons 
most days or every day, but the portion jumps among younger workers: 20% of 
the 18-to-29-year-olds said they surf online for personal purposes most days 
or every day, compared with 13% of 30-to-39-year-olds, 10% of 
40-to-49-year-olds and 8% of those age 50 to 64.
When it comes to e-mail use, almost 30% of workers said they send and 
receive personal e-mails most days or every day, a percentage that held 
roughly the same across all age groups.
And, when managers are compared with nonmanagers, the personal use of the 
Internet was about equal, though managers were likelier to send and receive 
personal e-mails: 33% of managers said they sent such e-mails most days or 
every day versus 26% of nonmanagers.
"Even the managers themselves are using the Internet more for personal use 
at the office. Clearly, there's a lot of this going on," Rzepkowski said.
"When you're talking about companies really wanting to retain their 
employees and deal effectively with work-life balance issues, you'll find 
they're going to have some tolerance for this. This is one of those key 
issues to retaining your employees," he said.

How much is too much?
That doesn't mean all personal surfing and e-mailing is going to go over 
well with your boss.
Twenty-six percent of the workers said they knew someone at their company 
who had been reprimanded or fired for misusing e-mail or the Web, according 
to the survey.
What's too much personal time on the computer? That will depend on your 
company and your job type. But in general, it has to do with productivity, 
Rzepkowski said.
"When the personal use is getting in the way of the employees' productivity 
on the job, that's where you're going to see the reprimand," he said.

Get the rules straight
Workers who use their work computer for personal use should clarify what 
their company's rules are, Rzepkowski said.
"There's no excuse for not knowing the corporate policy," he said.
Plus, ask your manager what's acceptable, he said. Workers will "get a very 
good sense with direct interaction with their boss what's tolerable from a 
personal-use perspective," he said.
"Once there's a crossover into spending time when you're not on lunch break 
shopping or spending inordinate amounts of time checking your sports scores, 
that's when you're getting a problem."
Forty-eight percent of the workers said their employer monitors e-mails and 
Web site use, 40% said their company did not monitor, and 12% were unsure.

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