Half of workforce plans to do online holiday shopping at work, report says

Half of America’s workforce plans to hit the holiday sales this season from the comfort of their cubicle.

According to a survey from CareerBuilder, 49% of workers will do some of their holiday shopping online while at the office. Of all workers surveyed, 12% plan to shop today’s Black Friday sales and 16% plan to check out Cyber Monday deals next week.

On Cyber Monday, an estimated 72 million people will go online to take advantage of free shipping and discounts.

The CareerBuilder study is based on an annual poll conducted during August and September by Harris Interactive of more than 2,400 employers and more than 3,900 employees. The numbers in the study are very similar to results from 2010 and 2011.

“Employers tend to be more lenient when it comes to workers using breaks or down time to get online and—in some cases—take care of some online shopping,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder, in a statement.

More women plan to shop online than men, the study said: 43% of women plan to do their holiday shopping at work, as compared with 36% of men.

And as Christmas gets closer, shopping online at work becomes more common, the survey said. Of those surveyed, 30% said they would be more likely to shop on the Internet after Dec. 7.

“It is the employee’s responsibility to know and adhere to their company’s policy regarding Internet usage,” Haefner said. “Be aware of how you spend time on the Web, and don’t let your holiday shopping get in the way of your productivity.”

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