Why Employees Should Surf the Web At Work

PC World — A small business owner might frown on the idea that employees are surfing the Web on work time to read about the state of the NBA lockout. But, when done in moderation, giving employees the freedom to roam the Internet can actually help them work better.

Free Downloads to Boost Your Productivity

Surfing the Web at work is not only harmless but it can even boost productivity, according to a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore. Web surfing offers workers "immediate gratification" and helps them "restore resources that are drained as a result of work," the researchers reported at last week's meeting of the Academy of Management in San Antonio, Texas.

The findings were based on a study with 98 participants with an average age of 21, who were divided into three control groups. Each group either surfed the Web for 10 minutes, did whatever they wanted during the time period except look at Web pages, or performed the task of bundling sticks into groups of five.

After the 10-minute time period, each group was given another 10 minutes to highlight with a marker the letter "A" where it appeared in a 2000-word text. After the tests, the participants answered a questionnaire to help determine their levels of boredom, mental exhaustion, and psychological engagement.

The results showed that the group that had surfed the Web for 10 minutes scored the best results in the test that involved finding the letter "A" in the text. They performed the task more efficiently than the other two groups of participants who had either worked by bundling sticks or were allowed to do whatever they wanted during the time period except look at Web pages. The Web-surfing group also reported in the questionnaire that they felt less bored and mentally exhausted and felt more psychologically engaged.

Surfing Is Better Than Email

If surfing the Web is good, where does that leave checking email? After all, leisurely Web browsing usually goes hand in hand with checking personal emails. But according to the study, checking email, in fact, does not offer the benefits that Web surfing does. This is because checking email demands more attention and is more "cognitively taxing," the researchers said. Also, since workers have no control over the content of the messages they receive, reading and responding to the messages is more mentally taxing than surfing the Web is.

Security Risks Can Be Mitigated

Some small and midsize business (SMB) owners prohibit non-work-related Web surfing because of security concerns. They may worry about employees accessing sites that might offend fellow co-workers or being lured to download malware. However, you shouldn't prevent employees from surfing for these reasons, because you can take steps to make surfing secure.

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