Survey: Americans shirking for a living two hours a day
Detroit – American workers spend almost two hours a day at work calling friends, surfing the Internet, running errands and “spacing out,” according to the second annual survey of time wasted at work by America Online and Salary.com.
The survey polled 2,706 workers last month, including AOL users and corporate human-resource professionals. Results were based on an eight-hour day.
Workers reported wasting 1.86 hours a day, down from last year’s tally of 2.09 hours. The decrease might not necessarily mean employees are working more.
“I think it shows a trend that the lines are getting blurred between what’s wasted time and what’s acceptable,” said Lena Bottos, director of compensation at Salary.com. “Is it wasted time if you spend 20 minutes looking for a babysitter because you had to work late? Is it wasted time if you’re figuring out your 401(k) – something that’s provided by your company and could be considered work-related?”
The survey found that companies assume a certain amount of wasted time when figuring employee pay.
It also found that employees are wasting about twice as much time as their employers expect.
BROOMFIELD
Gaiam buys stake in “spiritual” film club
Broomfield-based Gaiam Inc. plans to announce today it has paid $6 million for a majority interest in Cinema Circle Inc.
Cinema Circle is the parent company of Spiritual Cinema Circle, a subscription-based film club designed for “spiritual” moviegoers.
“We are very pleased to partner with Spiritual Cinema Circle, a media organization with heart, whose vision and products will expand Gaiam’s subscription-based offerings,” said Jirka Rysavy, Gaiam’s chairman and chief executive, in a statement.
PASADENA, Calif.
Store nixes Greeley chicken facility
A Hispanic grocery store has dropped plans for an on-site chicken-processing facility at a proposed store in Greeley after city officials and residents raised concerns.
Rancho Liborio Markets has withdrawn its request to include the facility in a store that is expected to open by the end of the year. The company is still pursuing plans to include a chicken-processing operation in its Commerce City store.
COLORADO SPRINGS
United to terminate mainline flight service
United Airlines is discontinuing its mainline flight service out of Colorado Springs effective Oct. 31. The carrier will continue to provide regional service on 21 daily United Express flights out of Colorado Springs. Next summer, United also will provide seasonal mainline flights out of Colorado Springs between June and August.
ASPEN
Season-pass prices unveiled for 4 areas
Aspen Skiing Co. announced season-pass pricing Tuesday for its four mountains for the upcoming ski season. Purchased by Sept. 8, an adult season pass is $1,649 and a youth season pass is $819. Full-price passes are $1,979 for adults and $989 for youths. Aspen Skiing also offers several other passes, including the four- day Classic Pass, which is $149 for adults and $119 for youths and college students.
Passes go on sale Aug. 14.
LOUISVILLE
Biotech Replidyne posts $8.9 million loss
Replidyne Inc. on Tuesday reported a second-quarter loss of $8.9 million, or $5.79 a share, compared with a loss of $8.4 million, or $8.31 a share, for the same period a year ago.
On a pro forma basis, which excluded stock options, the company’s net loss was $6.2 million for the quarter ending June 30, compared with $7.1 million for the same quarter a year ago. The biotechnology company, focused on anti-infective drugs, went public in June, offering 4.5 million shares at $10 a share. Shares closed up 3 cents Tuesday to $9.63.
DALLAS
Convictions reversed for 4 in Enron case
A federal appeals court Tuesday reversed several convictions against four former Merrill Lynch executives found guilty of helping engineer Enron’s 1999 sale of mobile power plants to the brokerage to make the energy trader appear to have met earnings targets.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found fault with the government’s theory of fraud that led to the wire-fraud and conspiracy convictions of James A. Brown, William Fuhs, Daniel Bayly and Robert Furst.
The judges also ruled that the evidence was insufficient in Fuhs’ case but upheld Brown’s perjury and obstruction-of-justice convictions.
MINNEAPOLIS
Northwest attendants may strike Aug. 15
Northwest Airlines Corp. flight attendants may begin random strikes Aug. 15 after the bankrupt carrier imposed a cost-cutting contract the workers rejected, a union spokeswoman said.
Northwest said a strike would be illegal and that the airline “would take appropriate legal action in federal court” if the Association of Flight Attendants- CWA threatened a walkout.
DETROIT
GM raises net loss by $200 million
General Motors Corp. said its second-quarter net loss was $200 million more than first reported because of a charge tied to the sale of its finance unit and warned that the transaction may be delayed.
The loss rose to $3.4 billion from $3.2 billion, GM said in a filing Tuesday. The Detroit-based automaker raised the after-tax charge connected to the sale of 51 percent of General Motors Acceptance Corp. to $690 million from $490 million.
NEW YORK
Verizon: Vodafone to remain a partner
Verizon Communications Inc. chief executive Ivan Seidenberg said he expects Vodafone Group Plc to be a partner in Verizon Wireless for several years, helping quash speculation that his company may soon take full ownership of the mobile-phone unit.
STANFORD, Calif.
Nike founder to help build business campus
Philip Knight, founder and chairman of Nike Inc., has pledged $105 million to help build a new campus for Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. It is the largest single donation to a U.S. business school, according to an accreditation agency.
The eight-building complex will be called the Knight Management Center, Stanford said.
