Misuse?
When it comes to Internet misuse in the workplace it is important to define misuse.
Dictionary gives you the definition wrong or improper use; misapplication.
We all (for the most part) know what the word misuse means but when it comes down to losing your job or being given consequences over the MISUSE of the internet I think it is something that needs to be more clear cut. Peter Saalfield wrote an article on internet misuse saying “Employees are using the Web more and more for personal reasons and that is setting U.S. companies back $178 billion annually, a cost of $5,000 per employee, said a study released Tuesday by Websense, Inc.” http://www.infoworld.com/t/applications/internet-misuse-costs-businesses-178-billion-annually-996
At the cost of $5,000 per employee I think it is important to talk about MISUSE. Who’s responsible is it to define misuse? Should an employee just assume what they can and cannot do? Should an employer waste time and money on making everyone aware of these rules or guidelines at work? We should all ethically know not to watch porn or anything inappropriate at work but is e-mailing family members or friends inappropriate? It becomes even more complicated seeing as though we have internet on our phones.
These questions need to be answered. In my opinion at the cost of $5,000 an employee it is worth the time and money to create guidelines and rules as well as ethical/moral guidelines. It is important to define the gray areas for each organization because ‘misuse’ in one organization may greatly vary from the next organization.
Saalfield, Peter. "Internet misuse cost businesses $178 billion annually."INFOWORLD. (2005): n. page. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://www.infoworld.com/t/applications/internet-misuse-costs-businesses-178-billion-annually-996>.
I believe that this is a matter of principle. Would you want your doctor to keep you in the waiting room while he texts or chats wit colleagues? What if you saw your mechanic updating his Facebook page while your car was in the air waiting to be worked on? When you are at work, you should respect your employers property and time.Personal things should be done on personal time or at home.
ReplyDeleteI believe the word misuse in this article is defined differently than I would define it. I find it hard to believe that with the average US household at an income of 50K/year that misuse is costing companies 5K per employee. How much time, I wonder, do they estimate people are spending on personal matters while at work.
ReplyDeleteAt my workplace we have free reign, generally, over what we search for and do on our computers. But, we also have a lot of work to do and tasks that must be accomplished.
I don't think that workplaces should need to chaperone the employee's actions on the internet but if the productivity is really suffering as much as Saalfield states, then maybe some king of website blocker should be in place. Or at least give the employees enough work so that they can stay busy while at the office.