UK employers stand to lose £260m a week in lost
productivity from office online Christmas shopping.
Bloxx, the enterprise web filtering specialist, has made the
warning and advises that firms put in place an
acceptable internet use policy.
The Retail Association says online sales reached £10.9bn last
year, and the Business Software
Alliance says 46% of online shopping happens during working
hours.
Working on an average of just one hour spent shopping online
during the working week, and using an average hourly wage of
£12.50, Bloxx estimates that UK employers could stand to lose £260
million a week in lost productivity.
"Not many companies will be so mean as to not allow their
employees some time to do their Christmas shopping," said Bloxx
sales and marketing director Paul Irvine. "However, with the
addictive nature of online shopping, it can be all too easy for
employees to get carried away and end up spending hours online
during the working day."
To address the problem, employers need to act now - before the
Christmas shopping season gets under way - by ensuring that they
have a comprehensive internet use policy in place, he said.
"Companies need to ensure that they have a clear acceptable use
policy for internet usage during working hours and ensure that this
is communicated regularly to employees," said Kirsty Ayre, a
partner at law firm Pinsent Masons. "Employees need to know what is
acceptable and what the consequences could be for breaking the
policy," she said.