Computer/phone Misuse In The Workplace

[Eve]

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/dozens-public-sector-staff-rapped-5833122

Saw this on the local news and I was quite shocked at the level of misuse and related sanctions although, at the same time, I can see how it happens.

Should there be tighter controls on computer use in the workplace where appropriate? I don't have any access to social media or anything like that at work and it doesn't bother me in the slightest, if anything I usually just check the news in my lunch hour.

However, with the increased use of smartphones and ready access to social media, this makes it harder to control, especially for those who don't seem to have the common sense and work ethic to tear themselves away when they should be working.

[pixie373]

Lol. Wonder how many on AnswerBank!

[jno]

I used to surf a lot at work, when there was no actual work waiting to be done. That included being on AB. Nobody minded. But I think there's a gulf between clicking on the BBC to see the latest news, and viewing porn, though it probably all rates as "misuse".

[Zeuhl]

LOL

AB is often sitting in the corner of a screen

I consider the occasional dip into it a therapeutic diversion from work

Mind you, it's annoying when active and intense AB threads are interrupted; by clients calling, urgent emails, or colleagues wanting to discuss their projects

[Eve]

Same here Methyl.

There is a huge scale covering misuse, from things such as porn or illegal sites to degrees, such as people on the serious skive, being unfair to their employers, colleagues and any customers or similar they are supposed to be doing work for.

[Eve]

Lol Zeuhl, how very rude of them! :)

[wolf63]

I stopped work in 2003 and at that stage we didn't have much internet access, but as it was the civil service I have no doubt that it is well policed these days.

In 'my' charity shop there is a block on sites like Facebook and there seems to be some strange filters. I was once trying to value an item and was tagged by the 'internet police' as having tried to enter a site with pornography on it and there was a pop-up warning me off. I think that it was pictures of birds (the flying sort) but they did follow up their enquiries the next day.

Employers must lose hours of work per day ~ and it must be annoying working with someone who spends all day playing games or using FB.

[anneasquith]

i worked in the public sector, and we were far too busy to be using comps or telephones during working hours. but the employers should take some of the responsibility here and ensure the abuse of the systems are monitored.

[Eve]

I've seen how disruptive and distracting it can be and the bad feeling it can cause when someone blatantly disregards the rules, let alone the fact that there is always work to be done, to just faff about on the internet!

Some of the blockers I've come across can have some quite weird results though I suppose that comes from over-caution.

[youngmafbog]

I think you will find most private companies have had bans in place for a long time, especially in the Banking/finance world which is also coupled with strict rules on usage of social media in connection with the company, even on your own profile.
Personal email such as Hotmail/ webmail etc are locked out and many staff cannot email outside or some cannot email attachments.
Mobiles are generally monitored or often there is an option to pay an amount to be able to use it as a personal device too, although company restrictions are often still in place for that too.
Of course, does not stop people sloping off to the bog or for a fag to use personal smart phones.

[bednobs]

when i worked in public engagement for the nhs i often had the internet police at my desk, because the things i had to search for on the internet quite often used to raise eyebrows (and alerts?) in the IT dept

[anneasquith]

re the banking/finance sector. I have a relative who works in this area, and use of the internet other than work can result in immediate dismissal .