Using the Internet at work is a very emotive topic. Particularly in small businesses which have traditionally experienced far more open cultures.

The downside, is that it can begin to break down very positive and trusting relationships between the owners/managers and the troops.

Perhaps you work in a culture like this? Nobody really minded if you booked a flight online, or checked the odd football score. So…

What, If Anything, Has Changed Then?

It can very easily be argued that we are experiencing what history may describe as a shift in Internet use.

Slowly, but surely, the Internet is changing our habits outside of work, and the effects are being seen inside it.

As an IT support company, we have experienced occasional instances of Internet misuse in the workplace. Perhaps the use of chat programmes. But we are being increasingly asked for better solutions because it is eating into productive time.

Since the advent of broadband though, use of the internet is currently exploding. Social sites, bookmarking, Skype, eBay, chat, blogs, forums etc are being increasingly frequented. And by more people than ever before.

The TV companies worldwide are losing viewing figures as the family is increasingly dispersed around the home - surfing, chatting and engaging with others socially - using software and sites that didn’t exist as little as a couple of years ago.

The trouble is, we are now seeing this sort of activity spill over into the workplace.

Big Brother versus Concerned Mother

The challenge for the small business is minimising the effect on productivity, without becoming Big Brother.

Perhaps the approach of a concerned mother is more appropriate? A bit like the way you ration the amount of TV your kids watch, the same could be applied.

We are now beginning to install applications on servers which filter out content that the client specifies - such as sport, offensive material, chat/social sites etc. But it can allow certain categories at times of the day you specify - e.g. before 9AM, after 5PM and between 1 and 2PM for example.

So during peak hours, material you don’t want people to see is disallowed, but they can check up on their favourites off-peak.

I guess that things are now moving in the filtering and monitoring direction and most will eventually be forced to follow.

Because you can effectively see the types or even the exact sites everyone has visited, it is wise to inform staff rather than surprise them when certain sites suddenly fail to load and instead give a warning message.

Where this sort of software has been installed however, perhaps the fact that it is possible to monitor has helped - because in nearly every case, Internet activity on the network plummets soon afterwards.

What do you think?

Is filtering and monitoring employee Internet use inevitable? Or can it be managed in some other way?

Please feel free to comment below…