One of the major effects of the global recession has been demands for increased productivity by employers everywhere. Workers are putting in longer hours for less pay and because of high unemployment most are happy to have a job. In many offices workers used to taking breaks are now finding that taking breaks is not welcome by their employer. At many offices in the UK many workers take unauthorized breaks to play online bingo and other games. As a result many offices now closely monitor internet use and employees found playing internet bingo are likely to be terminated or disciplined.
A study conducted by one internet bingo operator found that about 55% of all respondents said they had played internet bingo on company time. Many play on their smart phones to avoid detection by web monitoring by employers. Internet bingo is one of the most popular pastimes in the UK for women under 40 and most of the major internet bingo operators have launched their own smart phone applications. This enabled players to avoid using their employer’s computers to play their favorite game. Most employers frown on playing games at work and say that playing online games is detrimental to the whole economy.
One survey result that should be especially troubling for employers was the fact that a majority of the survey’s respondents admitted that instead or working they spent an hour every week playing internet bingo and other games while at work. For large corporations the accumulated hours spent playing online games could easily cost millions in lost productivity. One estimate by experts says that if every worker in the UK plays games for an hour every week over 57 million work hours are lost annually. Many employers view this as a tremendous waste of resources and say it could pose a problem for the economy as a whole.
There are other factors to take into account before laying all the blame on internet bingo players. Easy access to bingo sites make is hard for some workers to resist the temptation. Fortunately a majority of internet bingo players go to work every day and fulfill all of their employer’s expectations and save their bingo playing for non working hours. Most internet bingo players are smart enough to realize that internet bingo is an activity that must be saved for leisure time outside of the workplace. It is doubtful that internet bingo is having a dire effect on the economy and most players realize that there can be severe consequences for wasting company time.
