The holidays are right around the corner, and that means it’s time to shop! Most people start their shopping sprees on Black Friday, but this year many retailers were opening up on Thanksgiving Day to compete with the Black Friday retail sales, as well as the online sales that would be happening on Cyber Monday.
 |
If you’ve started your holiday shopping, did you:
- Go shopping on Thanksgiving Day;
- Shop on Black Friday; or
- Simply say, “I’m going to wait until I get back to work Monday to do all my holiday shopping because it’s Cyber Monday, and I can get better deals”?
If you answered C, you and your boss spent a fabulous day looking for the best deals, all on the company dime! Don’t be alarmed—your boss may not know you were too busy to work, because he (or she) was too busy trying to find great deals as well!
According to a CareerBuilder survey, senior-level employees are 7 percent more likely to use work hours to shop online than entry-level or professional staff. However, the number of online shoppers is expected to be down this year. In 2013, more than half (54 percent) of respondents said they would be shopping online during Cyber Monday. This year, only 47 percent say they would be shopping instead of working.
Workers who are on their feet most of the day, instead of at a computer, say they’ll access the deals from their smartphones or tablets. However, most white-collar professionals will make up the majority of online shoppers due to the convenience of having the World Wide Web at their fingertips.
But not all employees are that lucky! Over half, 53 percent, of employers say they block employees from accessing certain websites while at work, and 32 percent say they monitor their employee’s Web activity. Many respondents have admitted to firing employees who have been caught doing non-work-related Web browsing, and 8 percent admit to firing someone who has been caught online shopping. For those of you who haven’t started your holiday shopping yet, your time is running out, but don’t get fired over it! That’s one sure fire way to ruin the holidays!