People are using their workplace computers to make online purchases this holiday season, and some employers don’t seem to mind as long as it doesn’t cut into productivity.
“The lines between work and home have blurred. We do a lot of our personal business at work, but we do a lot of work from home,” said John Challenger, chief executive of global-outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The Monday after Thanksgiving has emerged as “Cyber Monday,” named for the throng of workers who return to work after a frenzied weekend of buying or browsing and continue shopping from their cubicles.
Online retailers throughout the country reported a spike in sales Monday. Akamai Technologies, a Cambridge, Mass., online-traffic monitor, reported a peak of 1.85 million North American visitors per minute to the 200 retail websites it tracks, compared with an average Monday peak of 1.3 million visitors.
Online shopping this holiday season is expected to exceed $19 billion, according to ComScore Networks. That’s a 24 percent increase over 2004. A recent survey conducted by Bigresearch on behalf of Shop.org, an association representing online retailers, showed that 37 percent of consumers said they would use Internet access at work to browse or buy gifts this holiday season.
Productivity concerns have begun to vanish as workers have become savvier about how and when to use the Internet. As a result, employers are relaxing rules regarding personal use of their PCs.
“As long as you charge the time accordingly, certain activities are permissible,” said Elaine Hinsdale, spokeswoman for Lockheed Martin’s Enterprise Information Systems division. “For the office worker that is able to take breaks throughout the day, and they choose to partake in online shopping … what you do on your break is your own choice.”
Other large companies with Colorado operations such as Amgen and Qwest echoed Lockheed’s practices.
“People are made aware that it’s not OK to use the Internet when you’re supposed to be working but OK to use work computers to surf the Internet on their own time, which includes lunch hours and before and after work,” said Debbi Ford, spokeswoman for Amgen Colorado.
Between 80 percent and 85 percent of Fortune 500 companies monitor employee Internet traffic, according to Vericept Corp., a Denver-based company that makes workplace-surveillance software.
That surveillance, however, is generally to look for infractions and other activities that may put an organization at risk. Online shopping isn’t such a culprit – unless it’s abused.
“Someone shopping 15 or 30 minutes online is significantly less time spent than employees taking two to three hours out of their day leaving work to go to the local mall,” said Brett Schklar, Vericept’s vice president of marketing. “The reality of it is, yes, employees shouldn’t (shop online at work). But in practicality, it’s more productive.”
Online sales are expected to remain strong throughout the holidays – particularly on Mondays. The Atlas Institute, a Seattle- based online marketing company, predicts that Dec. 12 will be the busiest online shopping day of the season, as time begins to run out for gifts to arrive on time.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
