The Flighty Faux Pas of Shopping While at Work

I don’t mean to stifle your digital shopping habits with vexing online survey results, but I’m sure some of you are at least a tad curious as to how many professionals partake in the joys of Christmas capitalism while at work, right? Well, I’ve got, um, odd news.

First of all, it seems consumer organizations and consulting agencies are at a loss when it comes to accurately figuring out how big a chunk of the corporate workforce is bent on shopping at the office. Check out this post on Consumerist, which semi-successfully attempts to explain why the latest shopping-while-at-work surveys are all over the place with their numbers.

In the end tho, who cares! I already know that a lot of people shop from their desks, especially during the Holiday season, and more so than they care to admit. What I really want to know is: Is it considered socially acceptable to do your Christmas shopping online during office hours? My verdict: Totally! It would motivate me to think others believe so, also. Survey says: Not so much.

According to Spherion, a firm that conducted one of the aforementioned polls, more peeps seem to think shopping online while at work deserves some tsk-tsking, as opposed to those who think it’s completely acceptable. Dang. Interestingly, however, the same survey says the amount of workers buying online is up 27% from last year.

So what does this mean? Does it mean users out there are being naughty instead of nice? It seems like some working onliners are having a sort of moral-ethical crisis and supplanting it through their e-purchases, only to feel guilty later on... or something. Or, the surveys are simply meaningless PR ploys.

Whatever the case, no one can deny shopping online is now mainstream. So the question remains: Are you one of these shopping-while-at-work offenders? Come clean with a comment!

Stick It to the Man! Sort Of...

I’ve been itching to revisit my old, riotous ways. Today I’m feeling improperly impish and want to stir up some trouble online while I’m at work. Or at the very least, I want to feel like I’m breaking the rules. The problem is that I’m such a square I’d feel remiss to do anything too crazy. So what to do? Last night I was conversing with a friend online and he pointed out that I’m not really a square; I’m most probably a rhombus. Whoa! A rhombus. I guess this means I still have some sort of edge left in me. I’m not sure, but now I feel like I have to brush up on my geometry.

Anyway, let’s get to it. Let’s wreak some online havoc!

Here's the most wicked I could muster up today: Say hello to--drum roll please--WeProx.com! This is a nifty little site that doubles as the wannabe-insurgent’s online weapon of choice by acting as a free proxy. It's not too radical for those faint of heart. Here's the deal: WeProx uses a CGI script that allows you to browse any and all sites anonymously and guilt-free. Are IP and URL-based blockers getting you down at work? Not a problem! Now you can revel in the deliciousness of your own subversive ways and go exactly where you want to go on the Web without the paranoia that IT will sound the alarm and track you down like a rabid coyote. And better yet, no one will know it was you. There is one downside though: you’ll take up a chunk of bandwidth at work—plus, the site crawls at the speed of dial-up. But who cares! You get to feel naughty.

For those of you who feel this is a little too close to dirty dancing with the digital devil, here are some Flash-based online games from Adult Swim that will still inspire fiendish delight (you’ve got to try Bible Fight!). After all, we are all rebels on the inside, cheating the system at any chance we get. Right?