Over 50% of companies fire workers for e-mail, 'Net abuse

jst5150 · Mar 3, 2008

In case you sat in your cube with fear ...

http://www.itworld.com/Tech/4535/companies-fire-employees-email-080228/pfindex.html

Companies are worried about the inappropriate use of the Internet, and so 66 percent of those in the study said they monitor Internet connections. As many as 65 percent of them use software to block inappropriate Web sites. Eighteen percent of the companies block URLs (uniform resource locators) to prevent workers from visiting external blogs.

Companies use different methods to monitor workers' computers, with 45 percent of those participating in the survey tracking content, keystrokes and time spent at the keyboard. An additional 43 percent store and review computer files. Twelve percent monitor blogs to track content about the company and 10 percent monitor social-networking sites.

Companies are keen to track employee e-mail and Internet behavior in part due to legal fears. According to research done by the AMA and ePolicy in 2006, 24 percent of companies in the study had e-mail subpoenaed by courts and another 15 percent have faced lawsuits based on employee e-mails.

Maryn · Mar 3, 2008

I believe it.

I'm frequently amazed at how much time people at work are able to spend online. Not so much here, where many people stop in and write a quick message a dozen times a day, but at sites where they're chatting by the hour, or posting virtually all day long. How can they possibly be getting enough work done?

Maryn, who knows a number of people who spend maybe 6 hours a day online while at work

Devil Ledbetter · Mar 3, 2008

Even though my company doesn't have restrictive internet policies, I'm not going to any of my usual boards while at work. I know my weaknesses. It can wait until I get home.

nicolen · Mar 3, 2008

I'd believe it. Our online time is monitored closely and we're told where we rank in the company at every coaching session. The reality is, people in my position are always going to have a high ranking - 80% of my reports and referrals are accessed online which was unheard of up to a few years ago.

In terms of the net nanny type software - we've got it at work and to be frank it's a bloody pain! It's very erratic as to what it blocks - today it blocked my online medical dictionary which is company approved, yet last week when I accessed the same page, there wasn't a problem. Go figure, but it's incredibly frustrating to have to spend 10 minutes on hold to helpdesk asking them to give me permission to do my job!

Sarita · Mar 4, 2008

At my last real office job, a little pair of googly eyes would show up in the corner of your screen if you were being monitored. Never happened to me, but it happened to the cube-rat next to me ALL THE TIME. She had productivity issues.

Jaycinth · Mar 4, 2008

I wind up here whenever I'm thrust into 'hurry up and wait mode'.

(Get this done, but you don't have the documents to do it until someone else has finished sitting on them)

I do not like 'hurry up and wait' mode because that means I will either wind up missing lunch or staying late or coming in early.

I'd write, but I don't want my stuff on company computers.

Yawn.

If I were smart, I'd take lunch now because dollars to doughnuts I'll be slammed at 1.

BenPanced · Mar 4, 2008

People in my office have screamed bloody blue murder every time management cracks down and enforces productivity. First they took away Solitaire and Minesweep from Windbloze 98-3/4. Then they started filtering websites (thanks to at least two guys in the department, one who hid it on an out-of-the-way PC and the other who was blatantly obvious about it). Now what am I supposed to do while I'm in the office? ACTUAL WORK? THE NOIVE! of some people! Don't they know it's my CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to surf teh intarwebz whenever and wherever I damn well want? (Oh, it's true! It's right after my right to rock 'n' roll.)

Yeah, I bin buzted for too much time online and not paying attention to what I'm checking out on eBay.

Over 50% of companies fire workers for e-mail, 'Net abuse

jst5150

Vorpal Comics. Weekly Podcast. Twitch Artist. Vet

Maryn

At Sea

Devil Ledbetter

Come on you stranger, you legend,

nicolen

Sarita

carpe noctem

Jaycinth

Your Cuddly Sociopathic

BenPanced

THE BLUEBERRY QUEEN OF HADES (he/him)