Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Human Resource Management and the Internet: Challenge and/or Threat to Workplace Productivity?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Human Resource Management and Technological Challenges

Part of the book series: Management and Industrial Engineering ((MINEN))

Abstract

Throughout the last few years, the Internet has become a common tool at the workplace. Companies, from different activity sectors, were quick to embrace the opportunities and potential given by the Internet and put them to good use to achieve their goals. However, despite having contributed to the efficiency of employees, by allowing them to have immediate access to information on a variety of topics and facilitating communication all over the world, it also contributed to never before encountered concerns to employers. Initial research into the use of the Internet for personal reasons during working hours stated that such use had a negative impact on productivity. The reasoning for such was that employees would be wasting time which could be used to further their work, thus possibly making them unproductive. On the other hand, recent research has shown the Internet to be quite valuable to productivity. Studies have shown that not only is the Internet a priceless tool which aids workers to accomplish their designated tasks, but also when used reasonably, allows those who are working to have moments of relaxation. This contributes to improvements in concentration and ultimately in productivity. Due to this ambiguity and the absence of works on this theme in Portugal, a decision was made to base this study on the impact of the Internet usage on productivity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wen, H. J., & Lin, B. (1998). Internet and employee productivity. Management Decision, 36(6), 395–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Anandarajan, M., Simmers, C., & Igbaria, M. (2000). An exploratory investigation of the antecedents and impact of Internet usage: An individual perspective. Behavior & Information Technology, 19(1), 69–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Case, C. J., & Young, K. S. (2001). A preliminary investigation of employee internet misuse. Accessed in 17 July 2010. .

    Google Scholar 

  4. Goss, E. (2001). The Internet’s contribution to U.S. productivity growth: Putting some rigor into the estimates. Business Economics. October 1, 2001. Accessed in 29 August 2010 .

    Google Scholar 

  5. Anandarajan, M. (2002). Internet abuse in the workplace. Communications of the ACM, 45(1), 53–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Muhl, C. J. (2003). Workplace e-mail and Internet use: Employees and employers beware. Monthly Labor Review, 126, 36.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Rotunda, R. J., Kass, S., Sutton, M. A., & Leon, D. T. (2003). Internet use and misuse: preliminary findings from a new assessment instrument. Behavior Modification, 27(4), 484–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Young, K. S., & Case, C. J. (2003). Employee internet abuse: Risk management strategies and their effectiveness. In Proceedings of the American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences. Las Vegas, February 21st.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Wallace, P. (2004). The internet in the workplace: How new technology is transforming work. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Lee, O. K. D., Lim, K. H., Wong, W. M. (2005). Why employees do non-work-related computing: an exploratory investigation through multiple theoretical perspectives. In Proceedings of the 38th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Hawaii.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Mastrangelo, P. M., Everton, W., & Jolton, J. A. (2006). Personal use of work computers: distraction versus destruction. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9(6), 730–741.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Sánchez, J. I. L., Rata, B. M., Duarte, A. R., & Sandulli, F. D. (2006). Is the internet productive? a firm-level analysis. Technovation, 26, 821–826.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Garrett, R. K., & Danziger, J. N. (2008). Disaffection or expected outcomes: understanding personal Internet use during work. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13, 937–958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Coker, B. L. S. (2011). Freedom to surf: the positive effects of workplace Internet leisure browsing. New Technology, Work and Employment, 26(3), 238–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Coker, B. L. S. (2013). Workplace Internet leisure browsing. Human Performance, 26(2), 114–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Solow, R.M. (1987). We’d better watch out. New York Times, 36.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Brynjolfsson, E. (1996). The contribution of information technology to consumer welfare. Information Systems Research, 7(3), 281–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Brynjolfsson, E., & Yang, S. (1996). Information technology and productivity: a review of the literature. Advances in Computers, 43, 179–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Triplett, J. E. (1999). The Solow productivity paradox: what computers do to productivity? Canadian Journal of Economics, 32(2), 309–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Lim, V. K. G. (2002). The IT way of loafing on the job: cyberloafing, neutralizing and organizational justice. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 675–694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Lim, V. K. G., Teo, T. S. H., & Loo, G. L. (2002). How do I loaf here? Let me count the ways. Communications of the ACM, 45(1), 66–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Litan, R. E., & Rivlin, A. M. (2001). Projecting the economic impact of the Internet. The American Economic Review, 91(2), 313–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Cox, J. S. (2009). Social networking in the workplace. Paper 360°, 36–37.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Cunha, M. P., Rego, A., Cunha, R. C., & Cabral-Cardoso, C. (2003). Manual de comportamento organizacional e gestão (1st ed.). Lisboa: RH Editora.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Bernolak, I. (1997). Effective measurement and successful elements of company productivity: The basis of competitiveness and world prosperity. International Journal of Production Economics, 52, 203–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Benner, M. J., & Tushman, M. L. (2003). Exploitation, exploration and process management: the productivity dilemma revisited. Academy Management Review, 28(2), 238–256.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Tangen, S. (2005). Demystifying productivity and performance. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 54(1), 34–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Pekuri, A., Haapasalo, H., & Herrala, M. (2011). Productivity and performance management—managerial practices in the construction industry. International Journal of Performance Measurement, 1, 39–58.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Pritchard, R. D. (1992). Organizational productivity. In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 443–472). Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Goodhew, G. W., Cammock, P. A., & Hamilton, R. T. (2008). The management of poor performance by front-line managers. Journal of Management Development, 27(9), 951–962.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Rei, C. M. (2004). Causal evidence on the “productivity paradox” and implications for managers. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 53(2), 129–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Young, K. S., & Case, C. J. (2004). Internet abuse in the workplace: New trends in risk management. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 7(1), 105–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Young, K. S. (1998). Internet addiction: the emergence of a new clinical disorder. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 1(3), 237–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Davis, R. A. (2001). A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological Internet use. Computers in Human Behavior, 17, 187–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Sousa, M. C. P. (2010). Impacto da utilização da Internet na produtividade. Master thesis in Human Resources Management. School of Economics and Management, University of Minho, Braga.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Mahatanankoon, P. (2006). Internet abuse in the workplace: Extension of workplace deviance model. In M. Anandarajan, T. Teo, & C. Simmers (Eds.), The Internet and workplace transformation (pp. 15–27). Armonk: M.E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Griffiths, M. (2000). Does Internet and computer ‘addiction’ exist?: some case study evidence. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 3(2), 211–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Stanton, J. M. (2002). Company profile of the frequent Internet user. Communications of the ACM, 45(1), 55–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Anandarajan, M., & Simmers, C. A. (2005). Developing human capital through personal web use in the workplace: mapping employee perceptions. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 15, 776–791.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Anandarajan, M., Simmers, C. A., & Teo, T. S. H. (2006). The Internet and workplace transformation. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  41. LaRose, R., & Eastin, M. S. (2004). A social cognitive theory of internet uses and gratifications: toward a new model of media attendance. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 48(3), 358–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. LaRose, R., Lin, C. A., & Eastin, M. S. (2003). Unregulated Internet usage: addiction, habit, or deficient self-regulation? Media Psychology, 5, 225–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Kolb, K. J., & Aiello, J. R. (1997). Computer-based performance monitoring and productivity in a multiple task environment. Journal of Business and Psychology, 12(2), 189–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Young, K. S. (2001). Managing employee Internet abuse: A comprehensive plan to increase your productivity and reduce liability. Employee Internet Management, 1–37.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Young, K. S. (2010). Policies and procedures to manage employee Internet abuse. Computers in Human Behavior, 1–5.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Carolina Feliciana Machado & Maria Clara Sousa

  2. Social Sciences Institute, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    José Cunha Machado

Authors
  1. Carolina Feliciana Machado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. José Cunha Machado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Maria Clara Sousa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carolina Feliciana Machado .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economic and Management Department of Management, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Carolina Machado

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    J. Paulo Davim

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Machado, C.F., Machado, J.C., Sousa, M.C. (2014). Human Resource Management and the Internet: Challenge and/or Threat to Workplace Productivity?. In: Machado, C., Davim, J. (eds) Human Resource Management and Technological Challenges. Management and Industrial Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02618-3_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02618-3_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-02617-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02618-3

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation