Everyone does a little online chatting or shopping at work here and there, so it doesn't strike as much of a problem to some. However, as I mentioned before, employee internet misuse costs a great amount of money in lost productivity every year. So how can you predict if an employee may be misusing the internet while on the job? Well, an Internet addicted employee will also be an Internet abusing employee. Here are a few questions to ask that may alert you to Internet addiction among your co-workers, employees, or even yourself:Do you or your employees lose track of time when online?
Do you log on to the Internet with every intention of doing work-related research, only to find yourself still surfing hours later, but now for personal material? Does the amount of time you spend online worry you? Or, are you concerned that your employees are losing track of time when they’re online? Granted, everyone may lose track of time once in a while when conducting intensive research; however, if it’s a common occurrence and you can’t recall the information you’ve been viewing online, there may be an Internet addiction problem.
Do you routinely have more personal than work-related e-mail in your e-mail box every day?
Everyone likes to socialize, and e-mail offers the perfect way for employees to socialize without leaving their desks. Unfortunately, it’s easy to let the messages get out of hand. One online poll conducted by vault.com revealed that 51% of employees admit to receiving 1-5 non-work related emails per day, and 17% receive 6-10. Additionally, 7% admit to sending over 20 personal e-mails per day. If you monitor your company’s e-mail activity, you may want to occasionally check who sends what and to where. Those employees who send and receive an unusual amount of personal e-mails may have a problem.
Are you or any of your employees preoccupied with the Internet?
Are you constantly thinking about your most recent online adventure, or do you sit at your desk anxious to log on again? Do you notice employees who continually obsess over the Internet, as if they can’t wait to get online again? Or do you have employees whose conversation topics routinely focus around the Internet and something they saw online?
Do you or your employees become irritated when it’s time to log off or when the Internet is down for the day?
Have you tried to stop your Internet surfing, only to become depressed or angry for no reason? Do you become frustrated when you have to dial up for an Internet connection and can’t get through? If your network is down for a few hours or the entire day, do you or any of your employees become hostile? When an Internet addicted employee can’t get his or her “fix,” it’s very common for emotions such as anger and frustration to surface.
Source:
Be Alert to the Signs of Employee Internet Addiction by Mike Foster
I completely agree that internet misuse is a huge issue in the workplace. Having multiple negatives and many possible positive perspectives also.
ReplyDeleteFrom the research that I did for our topic (Internet Addiction), it also has much to do with how a person reacts to not being online, how a person's lifestyle is negatively impacted by constantly being online or thinking about it. Multiple sites state that people often LOSE their jobs after serious internet addiction takes control of a persons' life.
I would think that internet addiction would decrease work output in the workplace, because people would not understand when to stop. But being able to use the internet without high surveillance would increase output. Unfortunately, having a job that relies on the internet to perform, I would think increases the odds of a person becoming addicted to the internet.