AUSTIN, Texas -- Spiceworks, an Austin-based network for the information technology industry, shared the results of a new survey that indicated most employees spend hours per week on websites unrelated to their job.
According to the survey, 58 percent of employees spend at least four hours per week -- which is the equivalent of 26 workdays per year -- on websites unrelated to their job.
Based on the median U.S. salary of $45,812, this means that companies are paying full-time employees around $4,500 each year to spend 10 percent of their time on non-work-related websites while on the clock.
So what kind of websites are employers restricting?
The survey revealed that 85 percent of businesses restrict illegal or inappropriate sites and 61 percent restrict dating sites. Thirty-eight percent of businesses restrict social media channels; 34 percent restrict instant messaging websites; and 25 percent restrict video or music streaming websites.
In order to keep employees on track, 36 percent of organizations block Facebook while 36 percent block Snapchat and 35 percent block Instagram.
Aside from productivity implications, the survey also indicated that these non-work-related websites cause security problems as well. According to the survey, 38 percent of businesses experienced one or more security incidents through non-work-related sites in the past 12 months.
