Tips on How to Respectfully Handle Your Worker's Personal Internet Use

With the increasing popularity of Cyber Monday sales, employees are probably tempted to shop during while 'on the clock'. There are numerous promotions exclusively available to online shoppers that take place during a business’ hour of operations. Most organizations allow occasional use of company time for personal use. Inevitably though some employees are going to take advantage of this generosity and abuse the privilege.

Online Shopping at Work - By the numbers.

• 53 percent of employees are using time at work to shop online, an increase from last year.
• 49 percent of employees use their personal smart phones or tablets to shop at work, an increase from 42 percent last year.

Here are a few tips that might help you address the issue of excessive use of the Internet for personal purposes:

• Implement a concrete Internet and email policy that provides employees with clear expectations about the employer's stance on personal time online at work. Follow through with enforcement of the policy when necessary.
• Instruct your managers and supervisors on how to establish and maintain the expectations and policies of your workplace. Train them to recognize when an employee might be abusing their Internet access at work.
• Designate times and/or durations that employees are allowed to use company Internet for personal purposes. Make sure they know that those who don’t comply with designated time/duration will lose the privilege altogether.
• For companies that are looking for a more aggressive approach to handling Internet abuse, consider implementing a web content filter. Web filters give you access control, allowing you to decide which websites your team can access. Filter settings can be deployed company wide, as well as individually for specific user permissions.

Since no two companies are alike, you may have to use trial and error to curb Internet abuse by your staff. Whatever you choose to do, Macro Systems can help. We can design an Internet usage policy that works for your company, or implement content filtering or other solutions to keep your staff on-task and productive. Contact us today at 703-359-9211.