In a world of digital distractions, employers should set internet activity guidelines to keep work flowing and free of trapdoors.
Pornography, gambling, terrorism, these are all available on the Internet. But these are not the type of stuff that’s considered acceptable in the workplace and many Alamance County employers choose employee monitoring software to block such sites from their employees viewing.
There are also YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Craigslist, Amazon and an assortment of news sites. They are less offensive but unmonitored access can wreak havoc on workday productivity. Now that most people carry personal cell phones to work, there is also texting and tweeting on Twitter accounts for an employer to monitor as well.
“It’s a challenge,” said Burlington City Manager Harold Owen. “We have to give people opportunity to go on the Internet for so much of what we do. We can’t use monitoring software to block everything, except for certain things we do know that we think would be inappropriate.”
Many businesses have computer, Internet, e-mail and cell phone policies. Before new hires at Alamance Regional Medical Center begin work, they attend an orientation and among the items discussed is computer and Internet use.
Whether it’s posting on social networking sites, writing blogs, reading personal e-mail or even viewing videos on YouTube, none of these are allowed to happen on the job, said Mandy Eaton, director of human resources at Alamance Regional.
“There is a lot on the Internet that has made our jobs easier,” Eaton said. “We want people to be able to access information quickly that is pertinent to their jobs but that comes with access to other things. While they might not be controversial in nature, it’s not appropriate to be done during the work day, like shopping.”
Whether it’s checking e-mail, banking online or watching videos, if they have access, surfing the web is a typical daily activity for most people. While they know it’s forbidden, studies done by media research companies indicate that the average employee spends between one and two hours a day using the Internet for personal reasons.
“Obviously, it’s a challenge,” said Burlington police Chief Michael Williams.
Most police department employees have Internet access, whether it’s through a computer on their desk or a laptop in a patrol car.
“When there appears to be an issue with a computer, IT (information technology) lets us know and we look into it to see if in fact there is a problem,” Williams said. “We look at who it was and what they were doing. If it is something they don’t need to be doing, we correct it. Sometimes it might be a detective looking for information.”
Williams said he reminds his employees during yearly training sessions that “electronic equipment that is provided by the city is for city business.” He also warns them anything sent via e-mail or text message is subject to the public records law.
“If you don’t want to see it on the front page of the paper, you don’t want to send it in an e-mail or text it,” Williams said.
Alamance Regional can track an employee’s internet activity if necessary, but it’s rarely done, Eaton said.
“It’s not a tool we use often,” Eaton said. The job of monitoring internet activity usually falls to managers, especially when work isn’t getting done.
“When we have productivity issues, we try to determine where it’s coming from,” Eaton said. “Sometimes that’s where it’s coming from. They are surfing the Internet.”
It’s up to hospital managers to work with staff to correct the behavior, Eaton said.
While most employers don’t limit what employees do on their off time, some have policies that extend to social networking sites and personal blogs. Police officers are told to use social networking sites carefully.
“We include that in annual training,” Williams said. “We caution them that if they post something, even from their personal computers say on a Facebook page or something like that and it is in relation to the business of the city, personnel information or a case they are involved in, there is always the possibility that information or postings can be subpoenaed. It could be evidence in a trial.”
Policies at Alamance Regional prohibit employees from blogging or shooting video or posting photos, even on personal websites or blogs that are connected to the hospital in any way.
“We tell them in their training that what you put on the Internet is pretty much the same as posting something on a billboard,” Eaton said. “… Facebook is so widespread that it is similar to posting on a billboard. It gets around so quickly.”
Alamance County blocks some Internet sites from county employees and has policies for computer and Internet use. At this point, there isn’t a policy that addresses comments made on personal Twitter or Facebook accounts, said County Manager Craig Honeycutt.
Employees know that computers are supposed to be used for county business. Honeycutt said he hasn’t seen any productivity issues related to Internet use, but he has dealt with some employees regarding cell phones.
“We have had some issues with cell phones and some issues with texting,” Honeycutt said. “… Everybody has a cell phone. You cannot monitor them fully all the time. We do try to keep as tight a lid on it as we can in making sure that we are doing our jobs for Alamance County. But if we notice it’s a problem, we do try to address it immediately.”
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