Do users in your organization care if their boss sees what’s on their computer screens right now? We’re not talking about that spreadsheet or work-related Web site. We’re talking about the baseball blog or gossip site hidden behind it.

If they’re at work and the answer’s yes, they’re probably cyberslacking — or, surfing the net for pleasure or personal reasons.

They have lots of company. Recent surveys found that employees spend nearly a fifth of their workday on personal Web activities.

You can hardly blame them.

Companies have supplied workers with a machine that’s a virtual gateway to the entire world.

Over 60% of workers say they fritter away time on the Web. About 34% of workers say personal Internet use is their top time-wasting activity.

Research shows that nearly one-third of e-mail messages workers send aren’t work-related.

And now, there are even Web sites that cater to cyberslackers:

• overheardintheoffice.com lets workers post and rate funny quotes overheard at work, and
• annoyingcoworker.com is a place where workers can rant about their fellow workers and bosses –- and even e-mail them anonymously.

But before your company imposes strict restrictions on personal Web time, remember that workers are often spending minutes doing chores that would take them hours out of the office.

And the break from work duties can also relieve stress and improve concentration in many employees.
But if you need to curtail cyberslacking, there’s software that will block overused sites, and monitoring software to keep track of extraordinary slackers.

Tags: computer use, cyberslacking, employees, wasting time