Should Management Monitor Employee World Wide Web Surfing?
Should an employer tolerate computer social networking on the job, or prohibit it? An Australian study suggests office workers are generally more productive if they relax every so often online, by reading news, shopping or chatting with friends on Bebo, Hi5, AIM, FriendFeed or Yahoo Messenger. The study’s author, Dr. Brent Coker, argues that often employer blocking of web sites like Youtube or Amazon is counterproductive. Employees need a break, he says. But beware Internet addiction. Dr. Coker sees signs of addiction in 14 percent of Internet users. Addiction means the users overdo it. They browse to excess; they can’t act responsibly. From the perspective of an employer, 14 percent is a huge number. How can an employer afford to idle 14 percent of its work force? Dr. Coker warns that for these 14 percent, casual surfing can become a waste of time and worse . So what is an employer to do? Internet access in the workplace is not a black and white issue. Different work environments – an
