On the Job

By Gail Repsher Emery

Many employees don't know what is withheld from their paychecks and why, or how they can use the withholding system to their advantage, according to the American Payroll Association, an education and training organization in San Antonio.

The association seeks to enlighten the U.S. work force ? estimated at 135 million people ? with a free video, "Your Paycheck," available at www.nationalpayrollweek.com. The video explains relevant aspects of minimum wage and overtime requirements, the Family and Medical Leave Act and withholding for child support.Worldwide revenue from online recruiting should grow from $250 million in 1999 to nearly $8 billion by 2005, according to Hunt-Scanlon Advisors' market intelligence unit. The Stamford, Conn., company's projections for explosive online recruiting growth appear in the September issue of Executive Search Review.

Hunt-Scanlon estimates the demand for Web-based recruiting solutions will grow exponentially in the next few years because of shorter employment tenure, a shrinking labor pool and the need for technology workers. The market research firm also expects corporate expenditures for online recruiting to increase dramatically in the next few years.Most employees said they should know if their bosses are monitoring their use of e-mail and the Internet, according to the second annual "Survey of Internet Use in the Workplace" by Vault.com. The study, released in September, is based on responses from 451 employees and 670 employers. It can be found at vault.com/vstore/SurveyResults/InternetUse/
index2000.cfm.

The survey found 92 percent of employees support legislation requiring employers to notify employees of e-mail or Internet monitoring at work. Meanwhile, 82 percent of employers also said they support the Notice of Electronic Monitoring Act, introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

Vault.com, which publishes insider profiles on more than 3,000 companies and 70 industries, also found that most employees spend 10 minutes to an hour each workday using Web sites unrelated to their jobs. Thirty-five percent of employers said workers shouldn't spend more than 30 minutes online, and 41 percent of bosses said they trace worker use of the Internet, block some Web sites or read employee e-mail.