More than half of American workers expect to spend some time at work shopping online this holiday season, up from 49% last year.
This is according to CareerBuilder’s annual Cyber Monday study. It reveals that one in five workers plans to spend between one and three hours browsing online deals from the office this holiday season. And 10% intend to spend three hours or more, while one-quarter expect to spend an hour or less.
Of workers who expect to spend two hours or more shopping online while at work, 33% feel they are less productive during December because of the holidays. In comparison, only 9% of those who don’t plan on doing any holiday shopping online from the office feel less productive during December.
Some companies have tried to address this decline in productivity. Half of polled employers say their organization blocks staff members from accessing certain websites at work. Twenty-two percent say they’ve fired someone for using the Internet for a non-work-related activity—with 7% of all employers pointing directly to online shopping at work. And 10% of employers say they’ve fired someone for sending non-work-related emails during work hours.
Conducted earlier this year, the survey polled 3,484 workers and 2,099 hiring managers and HR professionals across various companies and industries.