We work, we shop, but not at same time
By TIMES WIRES
Published December 3, 2006
Even as Web gifting becomes more popular, most workers won't shop online while at the office, according to a survey from Spherion Corp., a recruiting and staffing company polled 1,233 employed adults in October.
- 54 percent of employees said they wouldn't use their work time for Internet shopping this holiday season. Nearly half said it wasn't acceptable to do so in the office, even though 70 percent of their employers don't block access to retail sites.
- Of the quarter of employees who do shop online while at work, two-thirds spend 15 minutes or more each time they go online.
- Adults ages 30 to 39 are more likely to shop online than any other age group.
"Using computers at work to buy gifts during the holidays may be a symptom of employees' ongoing difficulty in balancing their professional and personal lives," said Nancy Halverson, vice president of talent development at Spherion. "With growing personal responsibilities and increasing hours on the job, the line between home and work continues to blur."
It's your potential boss' space, too
A recent survey of more than 750 employers and college students conducted by AfterCollege Inc. (www.aftercollege.com), the nation's largest career network specializing in recruitment at the college level, reveals that nearly 50 percent of employers think information posted on social-networking sites should be taken into consideration when making hiring decisions.
- Nearly 40 percent of employers conduct Web searches to gain insight about prospective new hires.
- 37 percent said that if they discovered something questionable about a prospective new hire, they would not offer them the job.
- Nearly 50 percent would still offer them the job, but would "keep an eye on them."
Other findings:
- More than 25 percent of students who post on social networking sites have posted questionable information or pictures.
- In light of the current employment issues surrounding social-networking sites, nearly 32 percent of students have stopped posting information they would otherwise post.
- Of those employers who do investigate potential new hires, nearly 40 percent draw the line at hard drug activity such as cocaine, methamphetamines and heroin, and would not extend a job offer to someone engaging in this type of drug activity.
- Only 3.3 percent of employers draw the line at nudity, while 4.1 percent and 14.7 percent, respectively, draw the line at heavy drinking and smoking marijuana, respectively.