UK
employees spend 40 per cent of their day surfing the internet or sending
e-mails, according to a survey by employment law firm Peninsula.
The
survey of more than 3,000 employees and 750 employers reveals that the problem
has become more serious over the past 12 months.
Ninety-seven
per cent of employees admitted they used the internet for personal use rather
than work. Each worker spends an average of three hours a day browsing the
internet – a 50 per cent increase on last year’s figure.
However,
less than one in ten managers said they believed there was overuse of company
e-mail and internet facilities.
Peter
Done, managing director of Peninsula, said: “Employers are losing time and
money in order for employees to check their e-mails or surf the net to find
something of interest.
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“These
results prove that employers are unaware as to how significant the problem is
for their businesses, and depending on the size of the company the problems may
alter in real significance from bad to severe," he said.
