Should the time an employee uses for research and further readings related to work be taken from work hours or it must be of his spare time?

Time management is individually controlled, managed and prioritized. Learning and developing continuously is the need of the hour for self growth and others development too. 

Well, if the task and the research are interrelated and it helps in performing the task. The research can be done during work hours along with the task. Else, it is advisable to keep things separate and give due importance to both the things as they require.

>>>>>>>>Well, if the task and the research are interrelated and it helps in performing the task. The research can be done during work hours along with the task. Else, it is advisable to keep things separate and give due importance to both the things as they require.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<,,

I’ve known Russ Warner, a consumate entrepreneur, through at least three prior large and small organizations including Altiris, Alianza, SageCreek Partners, and Novell. Currently, he is CEO of ContentWatch, the maker of Net Nanny and a client of our communications agency in Salt Lake. Russ Warner, CEO of ContentWatch, points to evidence that employees are wasting company time Today, however, I would like to share a guest post from Russ on a purely entrepreneurial subject – the topic of employees wasting their time (and their employers’ money) at work. There’s no doubt it happens, and access to social media at work makes the tendency worse. The critical questions are how to assess the degree of the challenge, and how to address the tricky subject of how employees manage themselves and their time during work. Here’s what Russ had to say: There are many activities employees do that waste time at work. Excessive meetings, co-worker interactions, office politics, and fixing mistakes are a few. According to a recent Salary.com survey, one of the biggest culprits is surfing the Internet. According to the survey, a majority of employees regularly spend time surfing the Internet on websites unrelated to work. Because “time is money,” every hour wasted has a direct negative impact on the bottom line. Specifically, the survey revealed64 percent of employees visit non-work related websites every day at work. Of that group,39 percent spend one hour or less per week,29 percent spend2 hours per week,21 percent waste five hours per week, and only3 percent said they waste10 hours or more doing unrelated activities. (My experience as a CEO tells me these figures are probably underestimated.) The survey also revealed which websites keep employees most off-task. Not surprisingly, socializing on Facebook occupied41 percent, while37 percent use LinkedIn, and25 percent are shopping at Amazon. Other destinations include Yahoo and Google+ and to a lesser extent Twitter and Pinterest. The younger, more tech-savvy worker demographic appeared to be the biggest group of recreational Web surfers. Of employees between the ages of18 and35, approximately73 percent reported spending time inappropriately at work on a daily basis. Respondents said the No.1 reason for slacking at work was that they don’t feel challenged enough in their job. Other reasons include, (2) they work too many hours, (3) the company doesn’t give sufficient incentive to work harder, (4) they are unsatisfied with their career, and (5) they’re just bored. These reasons in part also explain why46 percent of workers look for a new job while at their current place of employment – LinkedIn is the website of choice for those trying to network. There are many ways companies can combat the effect of wasted employee time within their organizations. For example, of the3,200 respondents in the survey,71 percent said short breaks throughout the day help them achieve higher levels of productivity. As it relates to inappropriate web site browsing, companies can implement a web filtering tool such as our ContentProtect on company computers to block or track websites not related to work activities, and if you suspect excessive wasted time, the IT group can install an activity-monitoring software such SpectorSoft to follow all computer activity on a particular PC. Realize, though, that technically savvy people know how to access their favorite websites through smartphones or proxy websites. In any case, it’s good business practice for companies to create, publish, and enforce policies on personal Internet use at any company interested in achieving higher levels of productivity. Establishing and enforcing policies should improve productivity but can also increase the security of company information, the security of company technical assets (computers), and will potentially reduce the liability associated with issues related to sexual harassment or employee job performance.

Hello Samar Saleh,

 

That is a Complex issue, Here is what I think:

 

First of all it will depend on the employee career level (Junior, mid career, or senior),

Second on how the employee presented him or her self to the company (if the employee presented him or her self as an expert or beginner),

Third on what the employee background and experience is (if you hire an employee with no previous experience or related education, then an employer must know they will need to spend time on training that employee)

 

There are many other criteria and information that needs to be considered before making a judgment on your question, but here is an example on how I see this issue decided:

 

(Mid level Employee, Previous experience in the same industry, and the employee presented him or herself a mid level employee who needs guidance and monitoring on his or her work)

If an employee is knowledgeable about his or her field of work and needs to find information to make better decisions on work related issues; then I think that it is fair to say that it should be considered from the working hours. (in this case the knowledgeable employee knows what to look for and does not need a lot of time to learn something new, he or she is just looking for validation on his or her decision)

 

If the same employee needs to go online to learn about something new he or she have mentioned that he or she has experience in but in reality they have non or very limited experience that will not allow him or her carry out tasks associated to the position he or she is holding in the company, then the employee must take out of his or her own time to learn about this task or earn that skill.

 

So in reality I think this question will have a very different and new answer case by case. 

Certainly not if the research and further readings strictly adhere to work. This will help employee to improve his knowledge & perform better.

I believe any development and education can be taking under working hours as well as in his spare time. The benefits will be for both. But when doing it during working hours, that should not affect (negatively) his regular tasks and activities.

In my opinion, the person should devote his full day time in multiple slots. After continuous work of2 or3 hours he should take15 minutes break in which he can read articles relevant with work or entertainment. It will also increase motivation level that employer is also giving importance of employee's individual development.

Even in spare time when you are in office you should be aware of your job & job related issues.

About the research and further readings you should practice individually outside of works.

Definitely should be his spare time. the continuous learning is a must for every employee.

Yet organization provides training to their employees related to their work to enhance their skills and performance, that is within your office hours only, right. It is the same when your research is related and gaining knowledge through that will have you more productive in your work, sure why not it considers including your office hours. otherwise if it is purely for your personal gain, than it should be outside the scope. thanks.