All I know is, somebody's losing billions worth of something to someone

Reuters says Facebook surfers cost their bosses billions.

Cullen said his findings were based on a typical Facebook user, earning an average wage, spending an hour a day on line. He then calculated the cost to companies if one person in every organization spent an hour on Facebook instead of working.

"We got the extraordinary figure of A$5 billion," he said.

Yes! I will agree that "extraordinary" is a word for that figure! One of many!

Meanwhile, Ace D’tect of SubBrilliant News reports another extraordinary finding: Employees lose $6 billion a year to work.

Alpenson said her findings were based on a typical worker, earning average holiday time, working a 40-hour week. She then calculated the cost to workers if they spent an hour each day on work instead of relaxing. Work they don’t get paid for.

“We got the extraordinary figure of US$6 billion in lost recreational time and work done essentially for free,” she said.

Published 22 Aug 2007 by Wade Rockett
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Comments

 

Siobhan Chapman said:

Swings and roundabouts eh? But I think the numbers conceal a far more important point. The real cost to business is senior managers failing to promote a positive, smart framework for social networking within their own organisations. For all the noise about social networking it's the silent majority who don't understand or are simply too scared to take the plunge who will cost their companies huge sums of money in the future when the social networking model is as prevalent as email.
August 22, 2007 11:38
 

Ouroboros said:

This is completely terrible statistic and something must be done to combat the terrible blow to the economy that distractions such as Facebook and March Madness (estimated at US$890-thousand in 2005 and US$3.8-billion in 2006, according to consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas) and the World Cup (estimated at £4-billion in 2006 by law firm Brabners Chaffe Street).

Alternatively, we might all consider how to position ourselves in areas of the economy in which such pursuits are not money-loosing distractions but the very acts of commerce which earn us money.
August 22, 2007 18:25
 

Wade Rockett said:

Peter, I agree completely. Look at how your employees choose to work with information in the course of their everyday lives and ask, How can we improve our infrastructure to match that natural, intuitive behavior?
August 23, 2007 21:08
 

Wade Rockett said:

Ouro: Don't forget water coolers and coffee machines! Every trip to the cooler is stolen time.
August 23, 2007 21:12
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