Many organizations are now considering putting some form of employee monitoring software in the workplace - in some cases, the Internet is banned completely from certain computers. Yet many employees, especially those in office jobs, find access to the Internet to be very useful, if not vital for their jobs. In this case, monitoring their Internet use to ensure that it is, indeed, work-related, can be incredibly time-consuming. When deciding whether or not to set employee monitoring software in place, it is necessary to weight up the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. Here are some of the advantages.
Higher productivity
Theoretically, at least, if Internet use is monitored, employees should be more likely to be doing their job, which should result in higher productivity. That does depend on how the monitoring is carried out though. If it is done in a manner that makes employees feel they are being spied upon, then the resulting tension could mean lower productivity. Done in the correct way, it should at least ensure that employees have one less distraction.
Higher security
For some companies, particularly those who deal with brands, general Internet use can be dangerous. Employees may deliberately or unwittingly pass information outside of the company that really should be kept internally. If monitoring is in place, employees are likely to be much more careful about the sites they access, and therefore about the information that they are posting/emails they are sending.
Lower costs
In the long-run, costs should be reduced through a combination of higher productivity, less waste, fewer legal issues and lower downloading costs. The fact that there is less data being received and sent means that the chances of infections are much less likely. Computer problems as a result of viruses can be incredibly costly, especially if they cause the system to crash, sometimes for hours on end, affecting productivity.
Fewer legal issues
Even in the most innocuous of locations, Internet fraud and Internet pornography rings have been known to spring up, usually completely unknown to the management. This can result in legal issues which, although may not be the company's fault, can result in high legal fees. Data protection is another issue - if the information falls into the wrong hands, the legal issues that come about can be incredibly time-consuming and expensive.
Better communication
Employees who have free reign on the Internet tend to come into work in the morning and spend the first half hour checking their emails, private and work-related, before catching up on the news and other personal issues. If they are aware that their use is being monitored, they are much less likely to do so, and will therefore make an effort to communicate with their colleagues. Rather than email something, they will pick up the phone or go to speak to the respondent in person.
Each organization will need to consider their needs before deciding whether to put an employee monitoring software in place. There are certainly a number of advantages, but there are also disadvantages to consider.
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