How Effective Are Companies’ Internet and Social Media Usage Policies?
Posted April 22nd, 2013
Did you know that up to 60 to 80 percent of the time your employees spend online has nothing whatsoever to do with work?
So is the conclusion of a professor John Ugrin, assistant professor of accounting at Kansas State University, and John Pearson, association professor of management at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Their study on the subject will be published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior.
The study concludes that employers just aren’t effective at keeping workers surfing/loafing habits at bay, resulting in considerable lost productivity.
Ugrin and Pearson looked at university/college students as well as at office workers. Both cohorts waste time online, but in different ways, with older individuals performing such tasks online as checking their bank statements, while younger persons spent time on social media sites such as Facebook.
It’s relatively easy to create an effective company e-mail policy. But policies that discourage personal e-mails and social networking need to be stronger and more strictly enforced.
In fact, just having such a policy was no deterrent to younger people, who believe that being able to socialize on sites such as Facebook should be a given, even if they knew they were being monitored.
Ugrin and Pearson discovered that workers were deterred from surfing on social sites when given examples of what happened to other employees who were reprimanded for abusing a company’s Internet policy.
“People will feel like Big Brother is watching them, so companies need to be careful when taking those types of action,” Ugrin cautioned.
What about at your company. Do you have clear and precise policy on Internet usage? Do you actively monitor employees’ surfing habits? Do you reprimand/write up those who “abuse” the policy? Do you name scofflaws? Do employees grumble that you’ve become “Big Brother?”
Every company has their own policies. Managers and professionals in leadership roles have their own management style. The key is making sure you know your employees, and implement policies that are best for them. Creating a welcoming and enjoyable work environment will help attract top candidates. Make sure your Internet policies reflect your company culture and your management style.
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