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On Their Best (Holiday) Behavior: Survey: Only One in Five Employees Will Shop for Gifts Online at Work

Posted on: Monday, 19 November 2007, 09:00 CST

MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Managers concerned about a post-Thanksgiving lull in productivity as employees flock to the Internet to buy holiday gifts can find comfort in a recent Accountemps survey: Nearly four out of five (79 percent) professionals polled said they will not shop online while at work during the holiday season. However, those who will be searching for bargains on company time aren't doing so half-heartedly; these individuals anticipate spending nearly three hours each week checking items off their holiday shopping lists while on the clock.

The survey, developed by Accountemps, the world's first and largest specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals, and conducted by an independent research firm, is based on telephone interviews with 539 workers 18 years of age or older and employed in an office environment.

Workers were asked, "During the holiday season, will you shop online while at work?" Their responses:

Yes............... 21 % No................ 79 % ---- 100 %

Those who answered "yes" also were asked, "On average, how many hours a week will you shop online at work for gifts during the holiday season?" The mean response was 2.7 hours.

"The holidays place demands on people's time, making it tempting to browse for gifts online while at work," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career For Dummies(R), 2nd edition (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). "But visiting shopping websites often is against company policy -- employees should familiarize themselves with their firm rules on acceptable Internet use during business hours and use good judgment in how they spend their time."

Accountemps provides the following advice for balancing work and personal obligations during the holiday season:

-- Know the rules. Most companies have policies that define appropriate employee use of their systems, including Internet, voicemail, e-mail and instant messaging. Become familiar with your company's guidelines and ask your manager for clarification if you have questions. -- Plan ahead. Consider how to effectively balance your time well in advance. You may decide, for example, to request a couple of days off to take care of errands prior to the holidays. -- Don't procrastinate. Make vacation requests as early as possible to increase your chances of getting your desired days off. -- Give yourself the gift of organization. If work is light around the holidays, use the time to organize for the coming year. Time spent clearing up clutter and updating contact lists, for example, can ensure a smooth return to work in January.

Accountemps has more than 350 locations throughout North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, and offers online job search services at http://www.accountemps.com/.

Accountemps

CONTACT: Matt Meigs of Accountemps, +1-650-234-6248,matthew.meigs@accountemps.com

Web site: http://www.accountemps.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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