Facebooking at the Office

Some of you may want to show this to your boss. I have never been one to ban social networking from the workplace, though I do think we must be very careful to not do it at the cost of productivity. According to this Wired magazine article, a recent study in Australia shows that people who Facebook (or use other networking sites) are actually 9 percent more productive. Here's a snip from the post:

Caught Twittering or on Facebook at work? It'll make you a better employee, according to an Australian study that shows surfing the Internet for fun during office hours increases productivity.

The University of Melbourne study showed that people who use the Internet for personal reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive that those who do not.

Study author Brent Coker, from the department of management and marketing, said "workplace Internet leisure browsing," or WILB, helped to sharpened workers' concentration.

"People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration," Coker said on the university's website (www.unimelb.edu.au/)

"Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the Internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days' work, and as a result, increased productivity," he said.