Facebook/YouTube/Myspace access during office hours 6

[chriscboy]

Hi,

The head of our dept has asked me whether we should allow our employees to have access to Facebook/YouTube/Myspace so that they can find out information about our customers / prospective customers.

I personally think this is a bad idea as I believe these apps are productivity killers and should only be used outside of work.

Do you have any policies/suggestions regarding the above? I would be interested to hear your thoughts!

 

[aarenot]

CAN it be done is a question in which IT is really nearly the sole, and primary authority. This is in terms of technology capabilities.

SHOULD it be done is really not a question in which IT is really the sole authority, but a valued resource in making that decision.

Is tek-tips a social networking site?

 

[kmcferrin]

Yeah, I saw that report on the SQL Injection exploit that hit about 70,000 sites last week. IIRC, there was a second wave this weekend.

But those sorts of things are a little more difficult to pull off as they require an exploit. With a lot of social networking sites you are allowed (even encouraged) to publish your own code, which makes publishing malicious code almost trivial.

Still, either sort indicates a clear case where some sort of web filtering needs to be implemented, even if it is just anti-threat rather than content filtering.

 

[aarenot]

I am positive that this thread has contributed to the bottom line of every company which the posters, and readers work for, LOL. All the individuals that have read, or posted on this thread are obviously not working on what it is they are supposed to be doing for the bottom line right now.

You can offer the lame response that it adds to your general IT knowledge, or overall big picture perception, LOL.

You might actually admit that this thread has been no more productive toward the bottom line, other than as a temp distraction to help you focus better afterward, than did some employees quick break on facebook, or ebay.

Sorry dudes, but it does seem a bit hypocritical to be discussing this on company time on this social networking site, or any site assuming we are supposed to be actually working. Spare me the "this is work" argument.

Let me exclude those who have been assigned to research what tek-tips members think about this subject.

 

[kmcferrin]

aarenot, I have often wondered what kind of company you work for because you seem to have some very odd ideas of what constitutes appropriate use.

For the record, my company does encourage professional development through training, certification and networking with other professionals. We run several SIGs for various technologies and knowledge areas, and our company encourages and reimburses us for membership in job-related professional organizations. Discussing technology-related questions here during work hours (for those times that I do post while at work) is clearly networking with other professionals.

Granted, you claim that this is a "lame response" because you don't like it, but it by no means invalidates it.

You might actually admit that this thread has been no more productive toward the bottom line, other than as a temp distraction to help you focus better afterward, than did some employees quick break on facebook, or ebay.

Even if the above were true (and I'm not sure it is), Tek-Tips is still far more relevant to what we do professionally than Facebook or eBay.

 

[Dollie]

Considering this thread has been running since 9/7/07, I'd say that it has been beneficial to me, and quite possibly others.

I've been able to show my co-workers what other professionals (?) in similar fields think about the usage. I've been able to bring up some pretty good arguments for, and against, blocking social networking sites.

It's been an opportunity to discuss issues that no one here at work used to be interested in.

Oh, and Tek-Tips is more than allowed on my office network. This site has saved my kiester (sp?) in more ways than one, and has proven to be one of the better sites to find true professionals who know something beyond their certifications. But then, it is a professional networking site and not a social networking site (ie, no pouty pictures of a bunch of guido-wannabees, no "i'm sad because my stuffed bunny died" blogs, and very few flames, etc.)

 

[aarenot]

kmc,
Third party providor of consulting, and services, varying sectors including some fortune 500's. Having worked for organizations from the porn, gambling, politics end of the world to the non-profit charitable org end, I guess I have seen some greatly varying philosophies on what is appropriate use.
I let management decide what is appropriate use since that is their job duty, not mine, or anyone elses. At some of my customers did that include surfing porn sites, yes? If they deem that appropriate, guess what, then it is company policy, and not my decision. Advertising compnies with their creative depts, I have seen them be on a seperate network because management decided they wanted no limits on their web surfing. Again their call, not mine.
Owners who want to surf live chats with live video of the pay per minute ilk, their call again, not my business.

So, yes my idea is somewhat flexible to say the least.

You may be right about tek-tips relevance in general. Some employers may even consider some of the topics appropriate for some of the employees they employ. Some people may also only go on TT in those topics that would be deemed appropriate. Some may only spend the amount of time in a topic which their employer would deem appropriate as well. Some may have even sought the aproval of their employer for their TT activities. Some may never waste any company time while here in TT's. Some employers might have no problem with an employee seeking help in TT , but not to spend time offering help back in TT.

I am not making a statement KMC that is meant to be specific to you, but rather to the group in general, and I think some would admit they are not really being productive in this topic any longer, or in many of the topics they participate in. Not in a way that would be heralded as great use of paid time anyway.

There are exceptions to that I am sure, but many are just wasting company time.

 

[vpneloh]

What kind of oppressive places do you guys work at? Are these sweat-houses in Cambodia or Prison Camps in Eastern Europe? Adults should be able to check their personal emails and surf the net every now and then. Breaks? Break rooms with a computer for personal use? Are these Customer Care Centers or Walgreens employees? In my experience, you have access to the internet when you get a real job where you are respected as an adult and you get your work done...even with the horrid availability of distractions! Jeeez.

 

[Dollie]

Wow. I actually work at a place that pays me to do things for them. I use that time to ensure that other people we pay to do things for us use their time to do those things, instead of worrying about how many people have rated them hot or not. I had no idea that putting something as dastardly as a laptop outside our network in the break room would have our office resembling a sweat shop/prison camp. I'll be sure to remove it and place a padlock on the break room door to keep the cretins out!

 

[aarenot]

LOL,

Just to make sure my poetic license is clear from previous posts.

I do not feel that an employee has the right to demand the use of company resources for personal use any more than the company has the right to demand personal resources for company use.

That also does not mean that I feel an employee should be using company time to accomplish personal activities, any more than I think that that the company should be using employees personal time to accomplish company activities.

It does go both ways. Thing is when the company is stealing from the employee it is called the employee being flexible, and when the employee does the same thing, they are called a thief. There are not two standards here, and the ones that think there are two standards are co-conspiritors, sometimes after the fact.

 

[SQLSister]

this is not totally true
"Thing is when the company is stealing from the employee it is called the employee being flexible"
what it really is
"Thing is when the company is stealing from the employee it is called good management"

"NOTHING is more important in a database than integrity." ESquared

 

[aarenot]

SQLSister,
You are so steadily a quite practical poster with a secure business management sense. I say this from the point of view of the recipient of the purchase price of my own business more than once, and that of a current small business owner. I therefore find it quite perplexing that you would only find a variance from the standard of truth simply in that I did not call a good manager a thief.


You seem just a bit radical in your views. LOL Your tag line is also quite humorous as it apparently does not apply to what in common opinion is important in a manager. Ethics is such a fun twisted flag in the wind.

 

[SQLSister]

Perhaps I've been subjected to too many "good managers" through the years.

Thank you for the nice compliment. I think it comes from almost ten years of performing efficiency studies. It gives you an insight into how organizations actually work, how they are supposed to work (or how senior managers think they do work) and why they don't work.

"NOTHING is more important in a database than integrity." ESquared

 

[Opieo]

I am still young in the workforce compared to the number of years I will spend here, but I work hard.
I get everything done that I am supposed to.
That is what I figured they pay me for.
I don't really view it that they just pay me for 40 hours of my time a week (excluding travel time to get here and back).
I work really hard for a while and then take a little time to unwind. Not quite a long as a smoke break equivalent, but still it is some time when I am not really doing anything productive for the company.
I honestly feel that if I did not take these tiny unwinders that my productivity would decrease throughout the day. I have experienced that a few times when the work was heavy enough that I got no such tiny breaks and had to stay a couple hours over. Getting my mini breaks and the company treating me nicely as well as showing appreciation make me willing to stay over on the rare occasion it is needed.
In return rather than having me use a full day off when I have to go to the dentist (just an example, its only twice a year) I can just leave an hour early and it is all good.
I have picked this philosophy up partly because it is how I feel, and it has been reinforced by my current boss, since that is how he views it.
I am sure not all managers would view it this way.
For the place I am at now, that is how it is, and I must say I am quite happy. =)

I do understand the other side of the argument, I just do not fully agree with it. But if the employees are failing to get their job done on time because of these distractions, then I would agree with the other side and say sure, clamp it down.

(For reference pretty much half the internet is blocked from where I work right now, but that is okay with me, I have a window I can look out when trying to relax a little.) =)

~
Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.

 

[aarenot]

Happy feet dance

 

[jsteph]

We are looking at an add-on to our ISA server which will give--on a per-user basis--a configurable daily quota of internet time.

It could be full-open internet, or, say 30 min. of any of a selected group of sites, such as Hotmail, Yahoo, and those mentioned above. When the user is done with their quota, then the sites are inaccessible to that user. We currenly provide several kiosks in our lunch/break room, where users log on and have internet access. This add-on will just give us more control while still allowing what are really becoming basic needs.

In this day and age, it's way too confining to restrict something that is such a natural part of most peoples lives. In the past, I recall people were always able to make personal calls at lunch time on breaks, so I don't see much of a difference with allowing personal email breaks.

--Jim

 

[StuTheNetTech]

I have been in the IT fieled for 6 years professionally and I have seen the way that company's and governments are going. In the military sites like facebook are banned. and if you ban facebook for being a productivity killer you have to ban every casino site, ebay site, local classifieds, etc etc...the company i work with now left all these sites open and does not restrict access to anyone. I find that administrating this network is a lot easier now because your day is not filled with firewall requests. all in all facebook and myspace, not productivity killers but merely time users, not to mention the valuable marketing and sales potential of a site like facebook or myspace. that's all i have to say about that. Have a great day.

 

[wahnula]

Interesting survey released last month on this topic:

http://press.amanet.org/press-releases/177/2007-electronic-monitoring-surveillance-survey/

E-Mail and Internet-Related Terminations:
The 28% of employers who have fired workers for e-mail misuse did so for the following reasons: violation of any company policy (64%); inappropriate or offensive language (62%); excessive personal use (26%); breach of confidentiality rules (22%); other (12%).

The 30% of bosses who have fired workers for Internet misuse cite the following reasons: viewing, downloading, or uploading inappropriate/offensive content (84%); violation of any company policy (48%); excessive personal use (34%); other (9%)

Another good snippet:

Computer monitoring takes many forms, with 45% of employers tracking content, keystrokes, and time spent at the keyboard. Another 43% store and review computer files. In addition, 12% monitor the blogosphere to see what is being written about the company, and another 10% monitor social networking sites.

Of the 43% of companies that monitor e-mail, 73% use technology tools to automatically monitor e-mail and 40% assign an individual to manually read and review e-mail.

This business of keylogging is a surprise and a bit of a shock to me. I guess it's the path of the future, ethical or not. Companies want to see how their workers behave on company time and on company equipment.

Tony

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