Water cooler: For some of us, holidays mean more work

Who says Christmas is a time to kick back and roast chestnuts over an open fire?

By Times Staff Writer
Published December 23, 2007

For some of us, holidays mean more work

Who says Christmasis a time to kick back and roast chestnuts over an open fire? More than a quarter of workers (28 percent, to be exact) say their workload increases during the holidays, according to a survey by the Accountemps staffing firm. We're guessing those are the retailers, postal workers, party planners and guys who dress up as Santa at the mall. About the same number of workers - 26 percent - said their workload decreases during the holidays. And 4 percent said they didn't know if their workload increased or decreased. We're guessing those are the guys who are playing computer games at their desk all day.

Even the boss likes to play games

Which brings us to our next point: In a survey by PopCap Games, maker of many of the online games that are chiseling away at our productivity, 24 percent of respondents admitted to playing computer games during work. Not that their bosses can rightfully punish them for it: Thirty-five percent of senior execs owned up to the same transgression. PopCap Games (www.popcap.com) surveyed more than 7,000 customers - many of whom, no doubt, took the survey on company time.

Benton honored as CEO of the Year

Her job is getting jobs for other people. Renee Benton, head of the Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance, was named the Tampa Bay CEO of the Year in the Business-to-Business category when Tampa Bay CEO magazine held its awards banquet this month. The TBWA is the state work force board that oversees Hillsborough County. Benton also serves on the Tampa chamber's board and its economic development arm, the Committee of 100.

[Last modified December 21, 2007, 20:21:16]