Home : Strategy : News

Surfing at work costs UK economy £10.6 billion

Many organisations are supportive of staff visiting non-work related websites, viewing it as a motivational perk.

By Ash Dosanjh, 11 Jun 2008 at 05:10

The average UK office worker spends around an hour and a half a week of work time surfing the web, according to CBI.

The survey of 503 private sector companies and public sector organisations who together employ more than one million employees - 3.6 per cent of the UK workforce - found that 60 per cent of employers think that members of staff often use office time outside of lunch hours and formal breaks to look at non-work sites, such as social networking sites and personal email.

It is estimated that 4.4 per cent of working time is lost in this way, which in turn accounts for 95 minutes a week, or 10 days a year. According to CBI this costs an average of £939 per employee, per year, which accounts for a total of £10.6 billion a year to the UK economy.

However, despite these findings the CBI found that many companies understood the importance of the internet to personal and social lives and see reasonable use of the web at work as a moral booster.

Only 14 per cent of businesses denied internet use all together, while seven per cent were considering imposing limits on web use.

CBI Deputy Director-General John Cridland said that although many employers have no problem with being flexible with their staff and their web habits, they need to be cautious about the financial implications.

“Employers understand that the internet has become a part of everyday life and are prepared to be flexible," he said.

”While an hour and a half a week may sound like a lot, it is not always wasted time. Productivity and morale can increase when firms trust staff to use the web sensibly to catch up with friends on Facebook, pay household bills, or search for a cheap flight," he added.

”However, £10.6bn a year is a significant sum and this is an issue that firms need to be aware of. Employers need to decide for themselves what level of non-work surfing is acceptable and then set out clear." boundaries.”

At least a third (32 per cent) of respondents said they set such boundaries by disciplining employees for internet misuse, while 13 per cent took action to dismiss an employee for persistent misuse, according to the survey.