NPR: Survey: Young People Slack Off More at Work

Survey: Young People Slack Off More at Work

Morning Edition reported today on a new survey that shows young employees waste more time at work than their older co-workers. But I don't think that necessarily means that young people don't work as hard.

The survey by salary.com finds that we all waste about 1.7 hours out of 8.5 hours a day. (In fact, the number of hours wasted is down from 2.09 in 2005.) Well, what did you expect? As Peter Cappelli, a professor at Wharton Business School, pointed out to ME host Steve Inskeep this morning, who the heck works eight hours a day nonstop, particularly in a white-collar job? As comedian George Carlin once remarked, no one has ever seen a memo marked "9:01."

While those aged 20 to 29 reported spending about 2.1 hours a day on activities that qualified as "wasting time" -- like going on the Internet or making personal calls -- it's been my experience that young people are regularly called on to work more than their fair share.

We old timers more often have to deal with kids getting sick at school or caring for an ailing parent, etc. When we need to take time off to deal with these situations, young people are almost always expected to fill in, with little complaint, because more are single and "have the time." Not to mention that those lower on the totem pole often get less vacation time.

And, as Cappelli points out, even if young people "waste" more time, if you factor in that they are almost always a lot cheaper, they're probably getting more done per dollar spent on them.

So take that, all you number crunchers!

5:26 PM ET | 08- 1-2007 | permalink

Comments

I'm over 30 and I think I slack at least as much as they do. I resent this whole younger generation of slackers for stealing the limelight away from us older ones.

Sent by Jason | 7:30 PM ET | 08-01-2007

I have been in the work force for over forty years and have noticed that to waste time while appearing productive takes practice and I have seen it honed to perfection by some of my older co-workers. I wonder if this study took this into account.

Sent by John Hall-Mullen | 11:51 PM ET | 08-01-2007

I am under 30 and readily admit to slacking at work by checking personal email, or reading the NPR News Blog. However, one thing I have noticed is that my generation is a bit more tech-savvy, and I think that in some cases, this adds to us being able to finish tasks a little quicker than some of our older co-workers. I have watched, frustrated, as my boss typed an email at a snail's pace, and it made me wonder if all of her work took that long. But perhaps I'm just trying to get rid of the guilt I feel for not being productive every second of the day--"I'm efficient, therefore I slack."

Sent by Marin | 6:39 PM ET | 08-03-2007

As an under 30 assigned to manage a number of over 30s, I am very pleased for your reassurances that they are slacking as much as I do.

Sent by Kelley | 10:27 PM ET | 08-03-2007

Having a college schedule to work around, I have settled for jobs closer to the bottom of the totem pole. I find these particular jobs do not require as much from the employee and so just finding enough work to keep busy for 8 or 9 hours a day is not always easy. As for my co-workers, perhaps "wasting time" (to a degree) is a not such a bad thing in that it reduces levels of stress, making for a more focused and efficient employee. This is just a theory and procrastination could just as likely have the opposite effect. Of course poor management, overqualified employees, and "boss proximity" can also impact the amount of time wasted in the workforce.

Sent by matthew -edit comment as needed | 12:43 PM ET | 08-04-2007

How in the world do you know who's wasting time? My boss can't even figure it out yet.

Sent by erickveil.com | 9:52 AM ET | 08-06-2007

Here here!

The "I have to pick up my kids" excuse from my older coworkers wears thin. I think I might go rent myself some kids so that I can leave early to Pick Them Up.

Pardon me... my personal email is calling.

Sent by Tracey | 10:48 AM ET | 08-06-2007

I'm gonna have to go with, slacking off while at work is an intricate part of actually getting the job done. If I don't take some time, like now of course, to just not think about work, I might go insane having to sit in front of this computer all day long. I don't think the older generation understands that us younger people get bored real easy with redundant and repetitive things.

In addition, since the internet is so readily available everywhere, people will be on it all the time.

Sent by Eugen | 1:24 PM ET | 03-31-2008

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