As business owners and employees, it's apparent that there will be down time from time to time. However, how are we to manage that one might say? Some might head for a cigarette or coffee break, take a looong lunch or handle personal matters on the company computers. Honestly, occasional use of the company's pc for personal matters should be allowed, but should be limited and maybe even monitored. I think employees should be allowed to work independently unless a problem arises. Once a problem arises, there are a series of steps the company should then take. Devise a policy in writing-for both computer and Internet use would be the first. Once a policy is in place the employees should respect it and not want to risk being caught. Should you still suspect it, I encourage installing software or spyware or firewalls that make it difficult for the suspect to continue. How do we then handle those matters when someone is caught? Watch this clip of what happened to this young lady who updated her facebook status while at work about her job. How would you handle this situation?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP4clzrDgy0&list=FLuG5tvxqBPwFyQEDcPA0gSA&index=3&feature=plpp_video
I watched the video and think it is a little absurd for her to get fired over her simply stating that she was bored. Any who says they’ve never been bored at work is lying. I don’t think it is any reflection on the company because it’s human nature and therefore unpreventable for people to get bored, especially when repeating actions over and over again as people tend to do in a work environment. Would her employer have fired her if he had overheard her talking to a couple of coworkers expressing how board she was? Then again, that’s not reaching nearly as large of an audience as Facebook
ReplyDeleteI watched the video as well and I feel it is over the top to fire her for updating her status. I feel a warning would suffice. All companies should have a policy for the use of internet in the workplace. Employees will have some down time at work, and I feel it is ok for them to use that time for personal matters at work. If you constantly monitor and have rules for everything, your employees will not be happy. If you want to keep productivity up and morale, make your workers happy and allow them to roam the internet freely for appropriate websites during down times or lunch breaks.
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