 |
11/14/04
WORKPLACE Instant messaging is sweeping the workplace, but a lot of people are not using it for work. A study by META Group, an information technology research and consulting firm, reports that 57 percent of the respondents from 300 top international companies rely on instant messaging at work for personal reasons, rather than business. The survey also found that 56 percent of those polled use instant messaging at home -- but for business purposes. ''Organizations should view these numbers as alarming,'' said Ted Tzirimis, senior research analyst at META. Tzirimis warned that unrestricted and unregulated use of instant messaging could lead to officewide computer viruses. The META Group survey revealed that companies have taken a different approach to managing the use of e-mail and phones. Of those polled, for example, 3 percent prohibit the use of telephones for personal use and 5 percent have warned workers that e-mail cannot be used to send personal messages. In addition, 16 percent of companies said they have banned the use of instant messaging. Also, 49 percent of the respondents would comply with a corporate strategy banning the personal use of instant messages. When asked why they like instant messaging, 78 percent said it is faster than e-mail; 74 percent said it helps them solve problems faster, and 71 percent said it allows them to multitask. Sixty-two percent said it helps them get someone's attention quickly, 37 percent said it is easier to reach people than with voice mail or e-mail, and 32 percent said it is an effective information gathering tool. Thirty-seven percent said it helps to reduce telephone expenses. META Group said, however, that widespread use of instant messages could make corporate networks more vulnerable because some users rely on instant messaging to transfer files that could introduce a company to viruses, worms or even disclose information to hackers. --DIANE E. LEWIS
SURVEY When it comes to healthcare, 37 percent of 130 female business leaders from the Boston area say the best plans are provided by employers. Further, they said those employers should be involved in reforming the country's healthcare system. Those statistics are the result of a survey by The Boston Club, an association of female business owners and executives. Of those polled, 34 percent said they preferred universal or government-sponsored healthcare programs as a way to provide healthcare for the 45 million people in the country who do not have coverage. Twenty-nine percent favored other options. Many women called for a combination of government-sponsored, basic care for all Americans, with private supplemental coverage made available through employers and other groups. Said Boston Club member Susan Wayne, the president of Justice Resources Institute, ''It is not supportive of a democratic society to have a system that denies life-sustaining services to its citizens. Healthcare of equal, high quality should be available to all.'' Karen Korn, director of research at Essex Investment Management in Boston, said the real challenge for the country will be to find a way to have basic healthcare coverage for all US citizens. In all, 70 percent of the respondents said they do not believe that the healthcare industry is as effective at managing costs as other industries. Twenty-nine percent said the healthcare industry is on par with other industries, and 1 percent of the members of The Boston Club also believe the healthcare industry is not as effective at managing costs as other industries. When it comes to healthcare reform, half the respondents said the industry's top priority should be providing coverage for all Americans. The other half were split: 25 percent said the top priority should be maintaining high quality care, and 21 percent said controlling costs should be the top priority. Further, 64 percent said cost containment would be better achieved through competition in the marketplace, compared with 36 percent who favored government regulation as a cost containment measure. Asked why healthcare costs have risen so much, 58 percent pointed to the high profits of drug companies, 47 percent said malpractice suits drive expenses up, 38 percent pointed to corporate greed, and 37 percent said the use of high-tech medical equipment has contributed to the high cost of healthcare. --DIANE E. LEWIS
WORK/LIFE Poor mothers who work are less likely to succeed in balancing their home and workplace commitments without health insurance and child care, according to a study released last week by the Institute for Women's Policy Research. The advocacy group, based in Washington D.C., looked at the career paths of low-income mothers in the United States and found that women who have child care and employer-provided health insurance usually remain on the job longer than low-wage mothers who do not have those benefits. ''Looking at thousands of mothers in the workforce over a three-year period, higher-income moms were nearly twice as likely to stay on the same job as low-income moms, but it is clear from the data that we can do a lot more to help low-income moms keep working and improve their family incomes,'' said Sunhwa Lee , author of the report. Lee said only one-third of low-income working mothers have health insurance from their employers. She said over half of higher-income mothers have those benefits. --DIANE E. LEWIS
CAREERS Robert Vila, 25, of Florida, always dreamed of being a basketball coach or general manager, but he became a computer software engineer instead. Earlier this month, after winning a ''Fantasy Career Contest'' sponsored by Business Week magazine, Vila got the chance to shadow Danny Ainge the general manager of the Boston Celtics. Vila met with Ainge Friday, Nov. 5, and spent two days learning from him. ''I love all aspects of coaching, leadership, the strategy and being able to get people to work together toward a common goal like that,'' said Vila. ''But I like my job, too. I have a great boss and I work with smart people, but there is always some kind of dream that is separate from that.'' --DIANE E. LEWIS
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
E-Mail This Article
