Offices battle obsession for slavery sites

SCOTT Wu, an advertising company executive, gets up early each day, logs onto Kaixin001.com, buys up some virtual slaves, fights over parking space and then goes to work - a contented man.

Like Scott, hordes of Chinese people are getting hooked on Kaixin, a social networking site with games like "Friend for Sale" and "Parking Wars."

The total obsession of workers with these games has sent alarm bells ringing through corporate offices.

Company managers feel that employees are spending too much time on these sites, affecting efficiency and productivity.

"Networking sites are the biggest priority in my life now. Even at work I tend to log onto the Website, the minute I am unoccupied," Wu confessed.

Alarmed by the invasion of Kaixin, companies like Accenture Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd have blocked the Website, saying that it is hurting the productivity of employees, according to a report in the Oriental Morning Post. "It is really inappropriate to spend time on social networking sites during work hours. It is so big a distraction that it poses a huge challenge for office administrators," said Daniel Ju, general manager of Shanghai VIPCare Co Ltd.

"The addiction is very infectious and affects everybody in office. Although I have registered on the site, I do not find anything interesting or special about it," Ju said.

The most popular games on Kaixin are "Friend for Sale" and "Parking Wars." The games were launched in June this year.

Users can buy their friends as "slaves" and command them around. It is also a way to gauge a person's popularity on the network.

"After I make a purchase, my friends become my slaves. They have no choice but to be under my command until someone else buys them or they earn enough money to pay for their freedom," Wu said.

In "Parking Wars," users can buy virtual cars with money they earn from parking their cars in lots belonging to other users. The longer you park, the more you earn.

"The most exciting part is when you spot a car in your parking lot. This way, you can grab all the earnings of the offender and report them to the virtual police. But I need to pay constant attention to this site," Wu said.

The possibility of the site being blocked in offices has raised the hackles of Netizens.

"I will try to log onto the Website through overseas servers in the office or at home," said Lily, an office worker. "Anyway, sometimes work is too boring and I should have some entertainment."

Nearly half the employees of ISB Shanghai Ltd have registered on Kaixin, according to Kristina Xuan, the company's office manager. She, however, does not support blocking the site as it could be counter-productive.

"The stricter the rules, the more negative employees become. I believe Websites like this are a temporary craze which will die out soon," Xuan said.

Kaixin, which was created by Sina's chief technology officer, however, declined to comment, saying that the Website is still "in the trial period."

Zhang Zhenning, senior human resource consultant from China HR's talent research center, said that the decision to block a Website depends on individual companies. "Employees of technology or manufacturing firms should not be allowed access to such Websites as it may affect output. But those in the creative industry need not be so strict. Actually, even if there was no Kaixin, there would be other distractions," Zhang said.

source:shanghai daily