Abuse of internet at work

Technology has done marvels in every field and transformed the globe entirely during the last decade.

Not that many years ago, cell phones, laptops and desktops were more likely to be found in science fiction novels than in our homes. Today, we’ve come to not only like technology, but rely on it.

The world has benefited in many ways and technology indeed increased the productivity and efficiency of business organisations. But we shouldn’t ignore the fact that technology has done a fair amount of harm to our nation which has a very rich culture.

Even with its positive and negative impacts, we are still keen on technology. For more than 35 since its creation, the internet as an important part of technological inventions plays a great role in the business world. It affects productivity, both positively and negatively.

The way the internet has put more control into the hands of employees who can work from anywhere, in any condition, at any time is unbelievable. Unfortunately this control can also be abused, as workers can also sit merrily at their desks, pretending to be working while really e-mailing friends or playing games with the team. In fact more than 50 per cent of employees spend time surfing the internet for their personal reasons. It is amazing to see how people will give up their breakfast for the internet.

Advantages through advanced technology

The technological tools that we have at our disposal make it almost unnecessary to visit one another, sit down at a table and have a meeting or go for a walk together, etc. One would think that technology makes the world smaller and more intimate for obvious reasons.

Some companies consider personal internet use a good thing for employee productivity because it allows workers to conduct time-consuming tasks online, such as shopping in the holiday season.

Surfing the internet for pleasure or personal reasons increases a worker’s concentration levels or eases anxiety about other parts of their lives, enabling them to concentrate more on their work.

When we consider the advantages that the businesses get thorough internet, one of the benefits small businesses gain is that it creates a competitive marketplace in which small businesses have the opportunity to grow as much as larger companies.

Through internet, businesses can do marketing and advertise their products and services without using traditional marketing techniques. Online marketing even saves the company money that would otherwise be spent on traditional means of advertising. Most of all there is a potential for customer growth.

Another benefit of the internet for business includes the availability to network with other business people and organisations. Many business people have created groups with others in their field in which they can talk about the challenges and rewards of Internet business.

Businesses that use the internet for transactions save money on paper and other office supplies. Instead of mailing or faxing multiple letters to clients and other businesses, they can correspond via email, etc. Apart from marketing, the internet contributes in increasing productivity as well.

Internet abuse affects productivity

Understanding the fact that your employees are the most important people in your company and they are the ones working to increase the company’s profits and make sure that the business stays alive in the industry, you provide other valuable resources like supplies, computers, communication devices and even internet access to make them more productive during office hours.

On the one hand use of the internet contributes in large to the growth of the company. Yet the dark side of this is that the employees tend to abuse the facility. How do they do it? The internet has proven itself to be an addictive distraction for employees. While many employees choose to use the internet for work-related purposes only, others decide to abuse the luxury of having internet access at their workstation.

The employee internet abuse could cost your company thousands of lost work hours, money, and productivity. When you “trust” an employee to only do actual work on their workstation, you open yourself up for a great loss, especially in call centres, data entry centres, research organisations and other open-space offices.

What do you think the employees who are left alone in their office or cubicles do? What do they do once you are gone? Do they perform work like they are supposed to? Or do they play games and perform other non-work related tasks? Do you know what they are doing online all day?

What about Skype? Most of the companies have introduced this facility to their office to cut telecommunication expenses. But did you ever notice that the employees of your company misuse it? They even play games as a team during working hours. Further, the internet is being used to access pornographic material. Isn’t this scary even to think about? You think all your employees are committed and loyal to the company, but they waste company time and facilities given.

Today, more and more government organisations are providing internet access to their staff. Thus, abuse of the internet will become more common, as it is not a secret that most of the government organisations and employees are famous for finding easy ways out and ways to idle at work.

Some people aren’t sufficiently cultured to use technology properly as a tool because they use it as an easy way solution or as fashionable trends. Also, these people do not have proper education to use it correctly.

Increase employee productivity

Workplace productivity is the key to maximising your company’s profit. Companies’ bottom line gets adversely affected for every minute that is being spent unproductively.

If the employee is able to complete all job tasks and still “waste time” on the internet, then the question shifts to whether the individual has sufficient work to do; perhaps the job needs to be enriched or expanded. Perhaps the internet time is spent out of boredom; much like some people read the daily newspaper.

When taking steps to reduce inappropriate internet use, you have to be very careful. Especially, when monitoring is used, it may not add value to the organisation and can create a climate where people will be fearful to use the internet, even for legitimate reasons.

It’s easy to allow access to work-related web sites only, while blocking web surfing and access to online entertainment sites. In this way, workers continue to use email, shared files, and business tools.

Workers can be kept off the internet during specified hours of the work day. By limiting employees’ access to inappropriate web sites, productivity goes up, and you diminish the dangers associated with employees downloading copyrighted or inappropriate web content. Trusted employees can be given passwords that give them unrestricted access to the internet.

Employers can monitor its employees’ internet usage at work, including website visits, specific page views and emails sent. This type of observations allows employers to determine how much time an employee is spending online as well as whether they are viewing material or performing tasks that are inappropriate at work.

In many companies, all of the employees’ computers are connected to the system administrator’s computer. This allows the system administrator to gain remote access to an employee’s computer, which comes in very handy when a problem within a specific programme or operation occurs.

However, remote access also allows the system administrator to check log files, including emails, website visits, and even downloads, that the user might believe to be deleted or cleared. In the end, proper use of the internet at work is the employee’s responsibility.

(The writer is the Managing Director and CEO, McQuire Rens Group of Companies. He has held regional responsibilities of two multinational companies of which one was a Fortune 500 company. He carries out consultancy assignments and management training in Dubai, India, Maldives, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. He is a much sought-after business consultant and corporate management trainer in Sri Lanka.)