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Wasted Time At Work Costing Companies Billions

American workers are wasting more than twice the time Human Resource managers expect.


-by: Dan Malachowski, Salary.com

For many American workers today, time's a wastin' - literally. According to a new survey by America Online and Salary.com, the average worker admits to frittering away 2.09 hours per 8-hour workday, not including lunch and scheduled break-time. As a matter of practice, companies assume a certain amount of wasted time when determining employee pay. However, the America Online / Salary.com survey indicates that employees are wasting about twice as much time as their employers expect. Salary.com calculated that employers spend $759 billion per year on salaries for which real work was expected, but not actually performed.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

The biggest distraction for respondents? Personal Internet use. 44.7% of the more than 10,000 people polled cited web surfing as their #1 distraction at work. Socializing with co-workers came in second at 23.4%. Conducting personal business, "spacing out," running errands, and making personal phone calls were the other popular time-wasting activities in the workplace.

Top Time-Wasting Activities (%)
1 Surfing Internet (personal use) 44.7%
2 Socializing with co-workers 23.4%
3 Conducting personal business 6.8%
4 Spacing out 3.9%
5 Running errands off-premises 3.1%
6 Making personal phone calls 2.3%
7 Applying for other jobs 1.3%
8 Planning personal events 1.0%
9 Arriving late / Leaving early 1.0%
10 Other 12.5%

Employees say they're not always to blame for this wasted time, however. 33.2% of respondents cited lack of work as their biggest reason for wasting time. 23.4% said they wasted time at work because they feel as if they are underpaid (if this applies to you, click on the Salary Wizard to find out what you are worth).

Top Time-Wasting Excuses (%)
1 Don't have enough work to do 33.2%
2 Underpaid for amount of work 23.4%
3 Co-workers distract me 14.7%
4 Not enough after-work time 12.0%
5 Other 16.7%

CATS VS. MICE

Are workers really expected to work 8 hours per day, non-stop? According to a Salary.com follow-up survey of Human Resource managers, companies assume that employees will waste 0.94 hours per day. They take this into account when they do their compensation planning. However, those managers privately suspect that employees waste 1.6 hours per day. In fact, employees admit to wasting 2.09 hours per day.

"To some bosses, that's a startling figure," says Salary.com's Senior Vice President Bill Coleman. "Others, though, will view this extra wasted time as so-called 'creative waste' - wasted time that may well have a positive impact on the company's culture, work environment, and even business results."

Time Wasted During an 8-Hour Workday Number of Hours/Day
Assumed by HR 0.94 hrs.
Suspected by HR 1.60 hrs.
Admitted by Employees 2.09 hrs.

WHO WASTES THE MOST TIME?

Who tends to waste the most time at work?

* Men vs. Women: Men and women waste about the same amount of time per day. This, despite the fact that most HR managers surveyed suspected that women wasted more time at work than men.

* Youngsters vs. Seniors: As the following statistics show, the older people are, the less time they waste at work:

Year of Birth Time Wasted Per Day
1930-1949 0.50 hrs.
1950-1959 0.68 hrs.
1960-1969 1.19 hrs.
1970-1979 1.61 hrs.
1980-1985 1.95 hrs.

Which industries account for the most wasted time?

Top 5 Time-Wasting Industries
Job Category Time Wasted Per Day
1 Insurance 2.5 hrs.
2 Public Sector (Non-Education) 2.4 hrs.
3 Research & Development 2.3 hrs.
4 Education 2.2 hrs.
5 Software & Internet 2.2 hrs.
Top 5 Time-Conserving Industries
Job Category Time Wasted Per Day
1 Shipping and Receiving 1.7 hrs.
2 Manufacturing 1.8 hrs.
3 Healthcare Related 1.8 hrs.
4 Finance and Banking 1.8 hrs.
5 Marketing and Communications 2.0 hrs.

HOW DOES YOUR STATE RANK?

Where does the most work-time get wasted? Regionally, the most time appears to be wasted in the Midwest, while the least appears to be wasted in the South. The biggest time wasters reside in Missouri, Indiana, and Kentucky. Workers in South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Hawaii slack off the least.

Top 5 Time-Wasting States
State Time Wasted (hours/day) Salary Dollars Wasted (per year)
1 Missouri 3.2 hrs. $28.1 billion
2 Indiana 2.8 hrs. $25.1 billion
3 Kentucky 2.8 hrs. $15.4 billion
4 Wisconsin 2.8 hrs. $23.8 billion
5 Nevada 2.7 hrs. $9.8 billion
Top 5 Time-Conserving States
State Time Wasted (hours/day) Salary Dollars Wasted (per year)
1 South Carolina 1.3 hrs. $3.0 billion
2 Rhode Island 1.3 hrs. $805 million
3 Hawaii 1.3 hrs. $975 million
4 West Virginia 1.4 hrs. $1.6 billion
5 North Carolina 1.4 hrs. $8.1 billion

Salary Dollars Wasted column reports (for each state shown) the total value of all salary dollars actually paid by employers, for which work was expected but not actually performed by employees. The calculation assumes that employers expect, and therefore allocate no salary dollars for, the first 0.94 hours of wasted time per employee. Calculations also assume a standard five-day workweek consisting of 8 hours per day, and a U.S. average salary of $39,795.33 per year (Q1 2005). Census data for non-farm workers employed in each state (Q1 2005) was obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Click here for the full list of states.

COSTLY BUSINESS

The average yearly American salary is $39,795 per year - or $19.13 per hour. If the average worker wastes 1.15 hours more than employers suspect, per 8-hour work day, that adds up to $5,720 per year, per worker in wasted salary dollars. So with the American workforce 132 million (non-farm) employees strong, the total in lost salary dollars adds up to $759 billion per year.

Adding It All Up Per Hour Per Day Per Year
Average hrs. American worker actually wastes 2.09 hrs.
Average hrs. American workers are expected to waste by HR .94 hrs.
Difference between expected and actual time wasted 1.15 hrs. 299 hrs.
Average American worker's annual salary $19.13 $153.04 $39,795
Total salary dollars wasted per employee $5,720
Total number of American workers (non-farm) 132 million
Total salary cost to companies $759 billion

Note: Time-wasted figures are based on an 8-hour workday (2080 hrs. per year)

If you are guilty of wasting a little time at work, and reading this far may indicate that you are, it may be comforting to know that you are not alone. Samara Jaffe, Director of Careers/AOL Find a Job Channel says that "it's nice to see that American workers aren't all work-minded 100% of the day, and that their employers are realistic about that too."

Some employees even told us other ways they waste their time at work, such as primping in the bathroom mirror and having running races up the staircase with co-workers. One respondent writes, "the hurried walk around the office is not only a great way to look like you are busy, but also a good cardio exercise." Other employees bring Game Boys or needlework to the office. And when all other time-wasting tactics fail, there is always staring blankly at your computer screen or out a window.

So take a few minutes to surf the web or socialize with co-workers. Then, get back to work!

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

America Online and Salary.com conducted in-depth research relating to time wasted at work among 10,044 respondents during May and June, 2005. Populations surveyed included AOL users, Salary.com Salary Wizard users and corporate human resource professionals. Respondents were asked to indicate how much time they wasted in an average workday, assuming a workweek consisting of five 8-hour days. Demographic information, including respondent geography, job category and gender was also collected in the study. Data was analyzed by Salary.com's team of Certified Compensation Professionals.