Using the Internet to reduce stress at work 求職網：聊天、上網、臉書 上班族紓壓三寶

Apart from performing proper tasks, what else are office workers preoccupied with on the job? A survey conducted by the online job board yes123 found that chatting, using the Internet and Facebook are office workers’ three main ways of relaxing at work, with 54.4 percent saying that it helps reduce work-related stress.

The survey found that the majority of office workers spend on average six hours per day performing work-related tasks (24.9 percent), followed by people who spend seven hours (21.9 percent), or more than two-thirds of their time at the office. When answering multiple-choice questions, it was discovered that the rest of their time is spent chatting with coworkers (66.4 percent), surfing the Internet (43.2 percent) or using Facebook (42.3 percent).

Although it may be a form of escapism, most office workers (54.4 percent) think that such distractions are helpful ways to relieve work-related stress, while some (9.7 percent) believe that it helps them work more efficiently, and is a necessary distraction (7.3 percent). In comparison, only 5.2 percent believe that surfing the Internet is lazy and irresponsible behavior, while 4.5 percent said it is a failure to perform their proper duties and 3 percent feel pangs of conscience when they engage in such activities.

As for exactly how much time office workers spend on Facebook, Internet auctions or chatting at work, the survey found that more than half spend 1.5 hours on average surfing the Internet every day. Around 59 percent of the respondents said that they spend half an hour on Facebook every day, while 21 percent said they spend an hour on the social networking site. Among the respondents, 64 percent said they usually spend around half an hour every day on Internet auctions or group buying sites. Around 57 percent said that they spend approximately half an hour every day using chatting software.

TODAY’S WORDS今日單字

1. relieve v.
緩和；減輕 (huan3 he2; jian3 qing1)
例: I took some medicine to relieve my upset stomach.
(我吃了緩和腸胃不適的藥。)

2. efficiently adv.
有效率地 (you3 xiao4 lu4 de5)
例: Using water more efficiently can mitigate the effects of drought.
(有效率地用水可以減輕旱災的影響。)

3. pang of conscience n. phr.
良心不安 (liang2 xin1 bu4 an1)
例: Hank had a sudden pang of conscience and decided to tell her the truth.
(漢克突然良心不安，決定跟她說實話。)