According to a new study by researchers at the National University of Singapore,workers who spend some time surfing the Internet perform better and are more productive. After conducting experiments with three different groups of employees, JQ Chen and his colleagues concluded thatusing the Internet contributes to the mental recovery of workers over and above making phone calls, sending messages or exchanging e-mails.
The research, presented at an annual business meeting in Texas (USA), has been based on two experiments, one of them carried out with students and others with adults. They both got similar results. The process consisted of dividing the selected people into three groups. They all searched for 20 minutes for the times the letter “e” was repeated in a text. The next 10 minutes were for recovery. The first group was assigned another simple task, while the second could do whatever they wanted in that period of time and the members of the third surfed the Internet. After the break, the members of the three groups looked again for the letter “e” in a text. The results indicated thatthose who had surfed the Internet in the previous 10 minutes were more productive when completing the task. They also presentedlower levels of tiredness and boredom, as well as a greater interest in their work. Ultimately, employees who take breaks to consult something on the Web perform better than those who work continuously or are otherwise distracted.
The habit of consulting the Internet at work and “wasting time” browsing is called derogatory in English.cyberloafing. “Company managers must understand that banning all forms of personal use of the web is not only ineffective, but can be counterproductive from a productivity point of view,” Chen concludes.
The study also reveals that personal emails are harmful, as they reduce concentration. When employees also respond to emails, they can experience negative emotions and see workflow disrupted.
