

Workers more productive if allowed to use the Internet for leisure - tyn
http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/news/5750/

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gojomo
The headline (and news hook) does not necessarily follow from the study
results. What the study actually found:

 _“People who do surf the Internet for fun at work - within a reasonable limit
of less than 20% of their total time in the office - are more productive by
about 9% than those who don’t,” [Dr Brent Coker] says._

So first, they've excluded those (mentioned later in the article) who spend an
excessive amount of time leisure surfing.

Second, what if tolerance of leisure surfing is essentially a reward granted
to the productive? They studied 300 workers, of whom 70% engaged in leisure
surfing, and they were "9%" (metric unclear) more productive . What if the
unproductive workers who leisure-surf are promptly let go, and thus not in the
300-person population at all?

That the university where the study occurred does not itself link to the
detailed written report -- instead only providing only video and audio of an
interview -- is also suspicious.

