Wasted Time at Work Costing Companies Billions

For many American workers today, time’s a wastin’ – literally. According to a new survey by America Online and Salary.com, the average worker admits to frittering away 2.09 hours per 8-hour workday, not including lunch and scheduled break-time. As a matter of practice, companies assume a certain amount of wasted time when determining employee pay. However, the America Online/Salary.com survey indicates that employees are wasting about twice as much time as their employers expect. Salary.com calculated that employers spend $759 billion per year on salaries for which real work was expected, but not actually performed.

WASTE MANAGEMENT. The biggest distraction for respondents? Personal Internet use. Of the more than 10,000 people polled, 44.7 percent cited Web surfing as their No. 1 distraction at work. Socializing with co-workers came in second at 23.4 percent. Conducting personal business, “spacing out,” running errands, and making personal phone calls were the other popular time-wasting activities in the workplace.

Employees say they’re not always to blame for this wasted time, however, as 33.2 percent of respondents cited lack of work as their biggest reason for wasting time. Another 23.4 percent said they waste time at work because they feel as if they are underpaid.

CATS VS. MICE. Are workers really expected to work 8 hours per day, non-stop? According to a Salary.com follow-up survey of Human Resource managers, companies assume that employees will waste 0.94 hours per day. They take this into account when they do their compensation planning. However, those managers privately suspect that employees waste 1.6 hours per day. In fact, employees admit to wasting 2.09 hours per day.

"To some bosses, that's a startling figure," says Salary.com's Senior Vice President Bill Coleman. "Others, though, will view this extra wasted time as so-called 'creative waste' - wasted time that may well have a positive impact on the company's culture, work environment, and even business results."

WHO WASTES THE MOST TIME?

• Men vs. Women: Men and women waste about the same amount of time per day. This, despite the fact that most HR managers surveyed suspected that women wasted more time at work than men.
• Youngsters vs. Seniors: As the table above shows, the older people are, the less time they waste at work.

HOW DOES YOUR STATE RANK? Where does the most work-time get wasted? Regionally, the most time appears to be wasted in the Midwest, while the least appears to be wasted in the South. The biggest time wasters reside in Missouri, Indiana, and Kentucky. Workers in South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Hawaii slack off the least.

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Click Here for a full list of each state’s non-productive time from Salary.com

COSTLY BUSINESS. The average yearly American salary is $39,795 per year – or $19.13 per hour. If the average worker wastes 1.15 hours more than employers suspect, per 8-hour work day, that adds up to $5,720 per year, per worker in wasted salary dollars. So with the American workforce 132 million (non-farm) employees strong, the total in lost salary dollars adds up to $759 billion per year. (Note: Time-wasted figures are based on an 8-hour workday (2080 hrs. per year).)

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If you are guilty of wasting a little time at work (and reading this far may indicate that you are) it may be comforting to know that you are not alone. Samara Jaffe, Director of Careers/AOL Find a Job Channel says, “It's nice to see that American workers aren't all work-minded 100 percent of the day, and that their employers are realistic about that too.”

Some employees even told us other ways they waste their time at work, such as primping in the bathroom mirror and having running races up the staircase with co-workers. One respondent writes, “the hurried walk around the office is not only a great way to look like you are busy, but also a good cardio exercise.” Other employees bring Game Boys or needlework to the office. And when all other time-wasting tactics fail, there is always staring blankly at your computer screen or out a window.

So take a few minutes to surf the web or socialize with co-workers. Then, get back to work!

SURVEY METHODOLOGY. America Online and Salary.com conducted in-depth research relating to time wasted at work among 10,044 respondents during May and June, 2005. Populations surveyed included AOL users, Salary.com Salary Wizard users and corporate human resource professionals. Respondents were asked to indicate how much time they wasted in an average workday, assuming a workweek consisting of five 8-hour days. Demographic information, including respondent geography, job category and gender was also collected in the study. Data was analyzed by Salary.com's team of Certified Compensation Professionals.

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