Should Employees Monitor The Internet?

Are you reading the article online at work time? Is it related to your job? If you think about it, I hope it is related to your job.

I say this for a reason.

The development of technology makes it easier for us to work day and night. It also makes it easier for our employers to understand when we are not working.

According to a recent survey conducted by American Management Association, more than 3/4 of American employers

If you look at these figures again, you can see why: about 50% to 75% of American employees (depending on which survey you trust) admit that they will surf the Internet for personal purposes at work time.

Nearly 1/4 of men who work on the Internet at work time even admit that they would visit pornographic websites at work (the figure comes from a company selling employees' surveillance products: describing American employees as addicted pornographic Lazy eggs is in the interests of the company; after all, the company may not be totally nonsense).

Productivity loss is only half the story: in the US, businesses may and indeed have been involved in lawsuits because employees are online.

Pornographic mail, instant jokes, blogs written everywhere, and pornographic websites as wallpaper are all likely to trigger lawsuits.

However, employees admit frankly that they are addicted to their online toys: in a recent survey, 52% of the employees on the Internet said they would rather not drink coffee than themselves.

So what should companies do? More accurately, when is the Internet wage earner in the United States, when is it safe to work online? A judge in New York recently encountered this problem, and it also surprised everyone who decided to win the lawsuit on the Internet.

The case involved an employee of the education department in New York, who was troubled by visiting odd travel websites during his working hours.

The judge compared the Internet with ordinary calls and said the employee should not be dismissed.

Torkel, a case man, claimed that his habit of accessing the Internet did not interfere with his work. ToquirChoudhri said that Chowdhury had no internet access.

Moreover, to the astonishment of the taxpayers in New York, it seems to be true: his department works too little, and Chowdhury can spend more than half a day surfing the Internet without lowering the productivity of the Department.

But in any case, the Ministry of education fired him and sparked furious anger on the Internet.

Some employees are puzzled: when an American company recently asked its employees to remove all their personal content from the server within 48 hours, many employees were furious: if bosses can tell employees not to store fifth stage talent show video clips or the latest Internet video jokes on their office computers, then what is the world going to do?

After an intense battle through e-mail, the IT Department Manager pointed out a problem that everyone should have known (but they may not be clear): the company is the owner of the computer, and the employees only use them under the tacit consent of the company.

Almost all employees working in the United States are in the same situation: no matter whether the employer explicitly states in his computer usage rules (many companies have made explicit provision), employees have no right to use office computers for personal purposes.

On this issue, most courts are on the side of the boss rather than the employees.

Most Americans know that they should not drive a company's car to carry a girlfriend or child. If a car crash or an accident happens, they can not expect the employer to pay the bill.

Why is cyberspace different? A recent survey found that nearly 20% of the web sites that employees access online at work time pose a potential threat to network security, and 8% are faced with legal risks.

What is even more frightening to employers is that a court in New Jersey recently found that employers should not only be allowed to monitor their employees' surfing the Internet, but in fact, they have an obligation to do so.

The case involved an employee who visited the pornographic website several times during work hours.

He posted pictures of his stepdaughter to a pornographic website during work hours, and his wife brought her employer to court.

No one knows whether other states will follow suit or whether the obligation to monitor employee behavior is applicable in non special situations.

However, this is enough to remind American employers to think carefully about whether they should take a close look at employees' private internet access at work time.

Of course, this is not just about legal issues.

Monitoring all employees' online behavior may eventually lead to alienation between employers and employees.

Before the Internet era, employers had been in the personal needs of employees.

Like all problems in life, this is a balancing act.

American employers should try to protect their networks and profits, but not as network jailer.