[EAS]Quality of Work

[pjk]

Subject:   Quality of Work

(from NewsScan Daily, 6 November 2003)

PERSONAL SURFING AT WORK CAN BE A GOOD THING
Here's a new book that turns conventional wisdom about personal
surfing on  company time on its head. Claire Simmers and Murugan
Anadarajan have  co-authored a human resources guide to worker Web use
that indicates a looser attitude toward personal surfing can yield
some beneficial side  effects. "Personal Web usage in the workplace
has a negative perception, especially among administrators who often
see it as inefficient and  creating a decrease in work productivity,"
says Simmers. But according to the authors' research, personal
surfing at work can result in better time management, lower stress
levels, improved skill sets and a happier balance  between work and
personal life. (AP 5 Nov 2003)
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20031105/D7UKH7E81.html


(from NewsScan Daily, 7 November 2003)

PLAYING GAMES ON THE JOB COULD BOOST PRODUCTIVITY
Yesterday we reported that personal Web surfing on company time can be
benficial, and now a report from the University of Utrecht in the 
Netherlands indicates that workers who were allowed to indulge in an 
occasional game of Solitaire or Minesweeper had more favorable
attitudes toward their jobs and toward work in general. "We told them
from now on for the next month you are allowed to play games for up
to one hour a day, and  you can choose when you want to play," said
Utrecht professor Jeffrey  Goldstein, who emphasized that his research
was a very early stage and the findings preliminary. Goldstein plans
to do a much larger-scale study, using more complicated games that
involve strategy decisions or role playing, but he noted that simple
games like Solitaire can be used as a strategy to break up the work
day and give people's brains a rest from complex tasks. "I compare
games with a coffee break. If you are like me, you use them in a
strategic, functional, useful way." Being allowed to choose how one
uses one's time also contributes to job satisfaction, which can lead
to higher productivity and less absenteeism. (BBC News 7 Nov 2003)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3247595.stm

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And what do such forms of relief imply about the quality of the work
environment and the work done?

   --PJK

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