They Know It’S Wrong, But It’S Tempting

A majority of workers say it’s wrong to visit pornography sites at work or go shopping on the Internet, but there’s less agreement about sending personal e-mail or playing games on company computers.

Surveys by the Ethics Officer Association and the Ethical Leadership Group showed that 87 percent of respondents believe visiting adult Web sites while on the job is unethical. Slightly more than half — 54 percent — also said Internet shopping at work is wrong.

But only 34 percent are convinced that it’s wrong to use company computers for personal e-mail, and survey participants were nearly evenly split about the ethics of playing computer games during work hours. Forty-nine percent said it’s wrong.

A majority of those responding to the surveys 61 percent said it’s unethical for workers to blame their errors on technological glitches.

Here’s how workers responded to some other ethical dilemmas in the workplace:

* 35 percent said a $50 gift to the boss is unacceptable, while 12 percent said a $50 gift from the boss is unacceptable.

* 11 percent said they have abused or lied about sick days because of on-the-job pressure.

* Four percent admitted taking credit for someone else’s work or idea because of job-related pressure.

Working world makes mark on words

The language police at Webster’s New World College Dictionary have voted and the results are in. The following workplace expressions met the lexicographers’ strict criteria for being added to the newest edition of Webster’s popular dictionary:

* Conglomerateur A person who forms a business conglomerate.

* Bottom-fish To make investments from among those stocks, bonds, etc. currently out of favor.

* Dress-down To dress casually.

Among terms considered but rejected are: Mission-critical, road warrior, outside the box, paradigm shift and e-tailer.

There’s no place like home

Corporate executives aren’t so different from rank-and-file workers in one respect: Most plan to spend New Year’s Eve at home.

A survey by Accountemps, a temporary staffing service, found that 56 percent of the chief financial officers polled plan to ring in the new millennium from the comfort of their living rooms. Only 17 percent expect to go to a party, while 8 percent will welcome the new year at a friend’s house, 7 percent will be traveling or out of town, 5 percent will go out to dinner and 7 percent weren’t sure.