The Problem Of Personal Internet Usage In The Workplace

The Internet, now a fixture in the workplace, poses problems for employees with extra time on their hands and a high-speed connection at their fingertips. The ever growing popularity of e-mail and rapidly growing number of addictive Web sites like eBay, the Zone gaming site, and chat rooms, cause many in the workplace to cross the line from business to personal use.

This topic was brought into focus in a February 26 issue of Infoworld in an article titled “Thought Cop.” Sacha Cohen, the author, claims the American Management Association reported in April 2000 that two thirds of major corporate American firms now use some type of in-house electronic surveillance. Frankly, that figure seems on the low side.

What Is The Policy?

Larger corporations have strict polices regarding Internet usage. Having been stung by lawsuits, places like The New York Times, Chevron, and other high profile corporations know the dangers posed by passing offensive jokes and pornographic material. For example, in 1995, Chevron Corporation paid a whopping $2.2 million sexual harassment settlement in a lawsuit brought by their own employees. At smaller companies, policies are often less clear. The Information Technology staff may become the policy maker and enforcement arm. For example, when corporate networks grind to a crawl because 20 megabyte movie trailers are sent as file attachments bringing internal e-mail distribution to its knees, intervention is required. Many corporate e-mail systems have fallen prey to viruses introduced as e-mail attachments. It is hard to fathom how an e-mail message with the subject “ILOVEYOU” could be considered work related. Yet thousands of these messages were opened on corporate networks, resulting in widespread infection.

In the absence of a clear corporate policy, the article contained the following e-mail monitoring policy guidelines. Frankly, this should be used by anyone using a corporate network when no company policy exists.

1) The system belongs to the employer and employees have no expectation of privacy.

2) The system is to be used only for work-related business.

3) The employer may conduct occasional monitoring of system activity.

4) Downloading or passing along offensive materials will result in disciplinary action or possible termination.

5) No one may download software or open exe files from an outside source without the system administrator’s permission.

6) No one may transmit sensitive company information or trade secrets without the permission of a designated company official.

Filtering

With the vast amount of electronic messaging passing through networks, corporations rely more and more heavily on filtering. They not only filter e-mail but instant messages as well. Products that have found favor with network administrators are Elron Software’s IM Web Inspector and IM Message Software. Often they are used in combination with anti-virus packages. Filtering allows the company to pick out suspect e-mails that are personal and in violation of company policy.

Avoid Temptation

The safest action to take in the workplace is to avoid using the Internet completely for any personal use. Unfortunately, this gets more and more difficult. With reduced staffing and heavy workloads, time is at a premium for many. The convenience of online banking, ordering tickets for sporting events, purchasing birthday gifts, and so many other convenient activities make the Internet a natural magnet. Perhaps the best solution is to obtain high-speed access (xDSL or I-Cable) so the Internet experience at home rivals the speedy access found in the workplace. The small extra monthly cost could save your job and possibly your career.

URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of interest:

http://www.cla.org/RuhBook/chp6.htm

http://www.elronsoftware.com/

(This is the 248th of a series of elementary articles designed for surfing the Internet. Next, “A Banking Experience on the Web” is the subject on tap. Stay Tuned. Until next week, happy travels through cyberspace. Previous issues of Internet Info for Real People can be found: http://www.thebee.com. Please e-mail comments and suggestions: rbrand@JUNO.com or editor@thebee.com.)