Newswise — For many holiday shoppers, waiting in line hours before malls open on Black Friday is a distant memory. In an age when online purchases prove to be a less stressful way to buy gifts for loved ones, many consumers are choosing to put off their shopping until Cyber Monday, the Monday immediately following Thanksgiving, when online retailers slash prices and offer special deals to kick off the holiday season.
But for many employers, Cyber Monday can be a frustrating — and expensive — day at the office, as employees put aside their work-related tasks to surf the Web for deals on company time.
"When you spend over 40 hours a week at work, it's no surprise that employees turn to their office computers to get some holiday shopping done," said Claire Simmers, Ph.D., associate professor of management at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia.
Simmers said that shopping on company time is a trend that employers would be wise to discuss with their workers explicitly to avoid potential problems.
"Employers need to accept that their workforce might be doing their holiday shopping online, and if they don't already have a written policy, create one and share it with them."
She also stressed the importance of employees using sound judgment when shopping at work, where keystrokes may be monitored by their company.
Regardless of where you buy your holiday gifts online, it pays to be a conscious consumer. Simmers offers the following tips to get the most value and the least undue stress possible in your online transactions:
1. Watch out for e-mail scammers who can steal your money or your identity. 2. Use only credit cards online. Sending cash or checks could be a bad idea. 3. Make sure the Web site on which you are shopping on is secure to prevent your information from falling into the wrong hands. 4. Just as in brick-and-mortar stores, it pays to comparison shop. Smaller companies may offer bigger deals than large online retailers. 5. Coupons aren't just for shopping in person. Many discounts are available online, too.
Simmers is the co-author of "The Internet and Workplace Transformation." Her research on personal Web usage at work has been spotlighted by news sources nationwide.
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