One-fourth of workers admit to online job search at work

One-fourth of employees who use a computer at work say they've looked for a new job online, according to a survey conducted for Hudson, a staffing and consulting firm.

Younger workers are likelier than their older counterparts to surf online job sites: 33% of workers 18 to 29 years old said they've searched for a new job online while at work.

That's compared with 21% of those age 40 to 49 and 15% of those age 50 to 64, according to the survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports of almost 2,700 U.S. workers who use computers at work. The margin of error is +/-3%.

But employers shouldn't overreact to those online job hunts, warned Kris Rzepkowski, interactive manager at Hudson North America. Hudson is a division of New York-based Hudson Highland Group Inc.

While workers should avoid conducting a job search on the company's dime, Rzepkowski says companies should temper their reaction if they find an employee searching an online job site, rather than consider firing that worker.

"Employees are not naïve enough to think they'll be with one company forever, especially if they're having a bad day," he said. "Employers should recognize that and use it as a growth opportunity," he said. That means talking with the employee about any job or work-life balance problems or concerns, he said.

Let's surf.

Just 12% of workers overall said they surf the Internet for personal reasons most days or every day, but the portion jumps among younger workers: 20% of the 18-to-29-year-olds said they surf online for personal purposes most days or every day, compared with 13% of 30-to-39-year-olds, 10% of 40-to- 49-year-olds and 8% of those age 50 to 64.

When it comes to e-mail use, almost 30% of workers said they send and receive personal e-mails most days or every day, a percentage that held roughly the same across all age groups. And, when managers are compared with nonmanagers, the personal use of the Internet was about equal, though managers were likelier to send and receive personal e-mails: 33% of managers said they sent such e-mails most days or every day versus 26% of nonmanagers.

"Even the managers themselves are using the Internet more for personal use at the office. Clearly, there's a lot of this going on," Rzepkowski said.

"When you're talking about companies really wanting to retain their employees and deal effectively with work-life balance issues, you'll find they're going to have some tolerance for this. This is one of those key issues to retaining your employees," he said.

How much is too much?

That doesn't mean all personal surfing and e-mailing is going to go over well with your boss.

Twenty-six percent of the workers said they knew someone at their company who had been reprimanded or fired for misusing e-mail or the Web, according to the survey.

What's too much personal time on the computer? That will depend on your company and your job type. But in general, it has to do with productivity, Rzepkowski said.

"When the personal use is getting in the way of the employees' productivity on the job, that's where you're going to see the reprimand," he said.

Get the rules straight.

Workers who use their work computer for personal use should clarify what their company's rules are, Rzepkowski said. "There's no excuse for not knowing the corporate policy," he said. Plus, ask your manager what's acceptable, he said. Workers will "get a very good sense with direct interaction with their boss what's tolerable from a personal-use perspective," he said. "Once there's a crossover into spending time when you're not on lunch break shopping or spending inordinate amounts of time checking your sports scores, that's when you're getting a problem."

Forty-eight percent of the workers said their employer monitors e-mails and Web site use, 40% said their company did not monitor, and 12% were unsure.