Empty Labor

Working, but Not Working

Employees spend an estimated one and a half to three hours every workday on “empty labor” – activities that have nothing to do with their jobs. “Empty labor is everything you do at work that is not your work.” Examples include personal phone calls, texts, emails and restroom breaks, as well as chatting with co-workers, surfing the web, shopping online and checking social media.

A recent worldwide Gallup poll found that only 13% of employees like going to work, 63% are “not engaged” and the remaining 24% are “more or less out to damage their company.” Analysts have done little research on empty labor despite these statistics. Author Roland Paulsen’s study concentrated on employees who work for half of each day. He interviewed 23 men and 20 women in marketing, finance, software development, sales, social work, mining, and more, to learn how and why they spend work time on personal concerns. He asked them how they got away with working for only half of their paid hours, and what inspired their empty labor. Interviews indicated that the blurring of personal and professional boundaries evens out and that taking breaks at work is...