One-fifth of people say that the workplace is the main location where they access the Internet according to a survey from Burst Media.
Men are more likely than women (32% vs. 28%) to use work as primary location. Higher income households are more likely to say that work is the main location from where they access the Internet.
Respondents said that surfing while on the job is often not work related, with 26 percent of online time at work spent on personal activities. Men spend more time online at work on personal tasks than women (28% vs. 24%). The youngest age group, 18-24 year olds, spends 34 percent of online time at work surfing for personal reasons.
When asked why they surf the web at work for personal use, 33 percent said to stay informed during the day. Twenty percent cited boredom and 18 percent said to stay in contact with family and friends.
Fifty- one percent said they have shopped online while at work. Men are more likely than women (56% vs. 45%) to shop online while on the job. Three out of five respondents with household incomes over $100,000 shop online while at work. Tasks while shopping online include purchases, researching features, comparison shopping, locating stores and searching for last minute deals.
Only 28 percent of employees feel guilty about using the Internet on company time, but women are more likely to feel guilt than men (31% vs. 25%). Only 30 percent of respondents were worried that their employer might be tracking their Internet usage.
“It’s clear from our research that the Internet is an integral part of work time – both for completing job duties, but also to conduct personal activities. That’s not a huge surprise since the lines have been blurred between work and personal time,” said Jarvis Coffin, CEO of Burst.
“The real opportunity is that the Internet allows marketers to reach the workday audience efficiently, surrounded by relevant work or personal content.”
