|
| |
Workplace Privacy - Cyberslacking:
What we love to do online…or how
to waste time at work without even trying
The latest joke or freaky animal picture moves across the
Internet at the speed of sound (or broadband). And you forward it along to a few
others, and so on and so forth. Luckily, the work e-mail is much faster than the
access at home. Besides, who can get to the home computer with the kids and
teens hogging it all night and day?
Whoops…here comes the boss, quick! Minimize the screen!
Phew! That was close. Now back to ______ [fill in the blank with whatever fad
site or online community calls your name]…hear it? “Parry…” it calls “…your
NeoPet needs to be fed,” “check the line-up for your fantasy football team,”
“What is your account balance? Did you pay the VISA bill this month?” “Have you
checked your horoscope to see if you’ll be having a good day?” “Hmmm…that cruise
you always wanted to go on may be on sale at LuxuryLink.com…” “That motorcycle
auction on eBay closes today,” “Maybe your soulmate finally your profile on
Match.com,” or “your Friendster private circle beckons.”
Never before have employees been so excited to get to work
and focus all of their attention on their computer screen. But what passes for
enthusiasm in the workplace is often an enormous waste of the employer’s money.
Some studies estimate that employers are losing up to $50 billion annually in
wasted employee time and resources online. Others believe that number is
seriously understated.
Management experts have estimated that only about 67% of
any employee’s workday is actually productive (without factoring in personal use
of the Internet). The typical productivity losses range from coffee breaks, to
downtime while changing tasks, to lack of organization. But with the advent of
music downloading, online shopping, auction sites and fantasy sports, that
percentage is reduced quickly and radically.
Instant messaging, always on, carries messages from others
also wasting time at work. Communications that never would have been made during
the workday, given the ease and instantaneous gratification of a reply, are made
all day long.
The sites that eat up productivity at work range from eBay
(you name it, you can find it on eBay), travel sites (where employees can plan
their next vacation, usually at a discount), e-commerce sites over the holidays,
car shopping and price comparisons, pornography, fantasy sports, horoscopes,
banking, investment and stock watch sites, cyberdating services and, to rub salt
in the employer’s wound, job-hunting sites. Some of the newest rages online
catch on first in the workplace. It’s a matter of faster access and fewer
interruptions than at home. And, when downloading full length movies and lots of
music files are concerned, endless storage capacity on the network’s servers.
So, how is an employer supposed to reduce cyberloafing?
Some have gone cold turkey and cutoff Internet access and e-mails altogether.
But most experts believe that cutting off Internet access is throwing the baby
out with the virtual bathwater. Along with the wasted time comes improved
productivity when the Internet is used as intended. Many studies have been
conducted where employees have indicated that they would sooner give up the
phone than e-mail at work.
Some employers have opted for software to monitor employees
surfing activities and in some cases restrict their online activities. Most have
adopted acceptable use policies, and it is reported that 22% of employers have
terminated employees because of violations of those policies. Others have
restricted Internet access to those employees who require it for their work,
limiting non-essential access. (Does every clerk in your mailroom really
need surfing capability?) There are even outsourcing companies that manage
oversight for you.
But what’s really working? And what’s the best way to get
the employees to resist the call of the Internet and personal instant and e-mail
messaging? And which online activities and sites are the most addictive? It’s a
little of “one from column A and two from column B.” Knowing what your employees
are doing, and how much time they are spending doing it will help you find
solutions that work for you.
Before you can forge a solution, you need to understand the
scope of the problem. Do your homework:
- Who has access to the
Internet/e-mail and instant messaging at work?
- Do you have a workplace
acceptable/Internet use policy?
- What does it say about
personal use of the Internet?
- What monitoring
practices are in place, if any, that check if employees are using the
Internet for personal surfing?
- Do you block access to
certain popular time wasting sites, such as job-hunting, investment,
cyber-dating, gaming and auction sites?
- What do you do when you
discover an employee has breached the permitted use policy?
- Are certain personal
uses more objectionable to you than others?
- Is personal Internet use
permitted as long as the employee is otherwise productive?
- Do you monitor other
electronic communications, such as phone calls?
- Do you have the IT
ability to block access to certain sites or applications?
- Are you using the
blocking technology?
- Who decides which sites
are blocked and which ones get through?
- Do you have the IT
ability to monitor which sites are accessed by employees?
- Are you using the
monitoring technology?
- Who decides what
monitoring is used and when it is used?
- Who’s monitoring the
monitors?
- Would your employees
object to restricting their Internet use to work-related surfing?
- Would clamping down on
personal Internet use adversely affect your workplace culture?
- Have you conducted
efficiency audits? If so, what did they find?
What sites and online activities lure you away from
productive work?
|
Parry
Aftab, Esq., 
Marvel and
all character names and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of
Marvel Characters, Inc., and are used with permission. TM & © 2004 Marvel
Characters, Inc. All rights reserved. “Super Heroes” is a Co-owned registered
Trademark.