What factors should management consider when one violates th

What factors should management consider when one violates the computer usage policy?

Solution

In a perfect world common sense and a solid work ethic would keep employees on task throughout the day, but the world we live in is full of online distractions. Personal email, games and social media are all elements contributing to a slump in workplace productivity; a 2010, Salary.com survey indicates that on average, around 64% of workers wasting one hour or less each day at work, while 14% waste 3 or more hours each workday (48% of this time is spent surfing the web which I’m sure isn’t surprising).

Once thought of as draconian or needlessly complex, the implementation of computer usage policies (often coupled with monitoring) is on the rise. The American Management Association, suggests that up to 45% of employers tracking content, keystrokes, and time spent at the keyboard (2008). Interestingly though, more than half of all businesses do not have social media and networking policies in place despite the fact that 76 percent use social networking for business purposes (Proskauer). By all accounts, there’s a massive divide – both in the way Internet monitoring is considered, and the way it is commonly policed.

There is an obvious need to computer and network usage in the workplace; an effective computer and network usage policy, with the assistance of sensible monitoring tools can help address a number of real problems that are costing businesses thousands of dollars in lost productivity every day.

Reason To Monitor

Employees are paid for their time at work, so it’s natural to want them to use that time to complete work activities. Yet nearly half the employees in a study by Nucleus Research admitted to accessing Facebook during work hours, with 87 percent of those not able give a work-related reason for their use. Businesses of all shapes and sizes have been caught off guard by Facebook, Twitter and social gaming – an obvious reason to consider an Internet or Computer usage policy, but there are many others…

Privacyand Security Issues

Monitoring employees’ computer use can be an effective tool in preventing software piracy at work. While it may not be the first reason most employers choose to monitor, businesses are responsible if their employees to use unlicensed software, even without management’s knowledge. As Kane Bennett outlines, “Civil penalties include monetary damages for the software publisher’s lost profits and statutory damages up to $150,000 for copyright infringement.” Costs can go even higher in the even criminal charges are filed.

Piracy also often introduces infrastructure and security concerns. The sites used for software and media piracy often leave visitors with malware, viruses and spyware, which can compromise private business data and affect the proper functioning of your machines If employees downloading large files, bandwidth can quickly become a concern. Even frequent small downloads can raise issues. A study by the International Information Management Association described bandwidth problems resulting from employees having real-time data, such as news reports or stock data, sent to their desktop. The employer in this situation encountered an unexpected double-digit loss of bandwidth.