Holiday Shopping on the Boss’s Dime

The lines are long, the crowds teeming. So why not just shop for your holiday gifts from the safety and comfort of your computer?

The Boston Globe reports that that’s the kind of thinking that has about 70 million people, over half of workers with Internet access, this year browsing and buying — on company time.

But before guilt compels you to frantically press alt-tab to minimize the screen emblazoned with deals from Bloomingdale’s, the Globe reports that a study from BIGresearch says that there is an upside for your boss. The research firm says, “Employees who spend 10 minutes at the office completing their holiday shopping online are likely to be much more efficient than those who use extended lunch breaks waiting in line at the store and fighting holiday traffic on the way back to work.”

Hey, and if that doesn’t work, you can always cite statistics that consumer spending makes up 70 percent of America’s gross domestic product. That is, shopping is your patriotic duty.

Photo courtesy Aussie Gold via Flickr.