internet usuage policy

gary the great

I was never really explained the internet usuage policy in my new job. I work hard but sometimes you need a little break and for 10mins i take a wander on here or carzone.ie or something (usually when other people are gone for a cup of tea), i just want to know are most companies really strict about this? I make sure never to get caught but im sure IT log everything anyway, but do they usually act upon it. I never really go beyond 10mins on this site, but it is during working hours.

Is this really OK and am i likely to be caught and get in trouble? How does the internet usuage system work in most other companies?

Kimbot

In the civil service if your lucky to have it your allowed limited usage and that is really when you aren't clocked in!!

leeroybrown

It very much depends on the employer/manager in question. I have worked in places where reasonable personal usage was not a problem so long as it didn't interfere with an employees work. I have also worked in an office where any personal usage during work hours was practically viewed as theft.

If you feel the need to hide all personal Internet usage from your employer/manager then you are probably doing something that you shouldn't really be doing.

gary the great

Ye true Leeroy, i havent really seen anybody else use it so its probly just not the done thing or maybe there just good at hiding it?

It definelty doesnt interfere with my work, just makes me more productive as i need them 10min breaks to help my concentration and the net and its just to tempting!

Im just afraid that there willbe an internet audit or something like that reveling our internet usuage and il get in ****!

seamus

Usually depends on the size of the company and the nature of the work. Larger professional companies such as solictors and accountants tend to be of the "we will allow a reasonable amount of personal usage for doing your online banking and some shopping, but try and stick to lunch time or after hours".

Smaller, less professional companies tend to do more penny counting and be more restrictive.

I've worked in a place where non-work internet usage was pretty much viewed as stealing. Instead of an actual usage policy and allowing employees five or ten minutes to chill out, I was just instructed to not give the access to those departments who "would never get any work done if they had the internet".

Where I'm currently working has been a lot more relaxed about Internet usage in the past - mainly porn, gambling and the like were actively blocked. We've noticed however with the more recent graduates, that the likes of Bebo and MyTube have given those in non-technical college courses more Internet skills. Consequently, use of these sites has gone through the roof along with the bandwidth they use, so we've begun locking down on social networking sites like Bebo, myspace and maybefriends, and also cutting out any chat sites. Usage is allowed at lunchtime and outside working hours, but during working hours, they're actively blocked.

Most auditing takes a look at the number of attempts to access blocked material, and also at those sites where you spend a lot of time - using the internet for business purposes (research or contact), rarely has you using a single site for a long time.

is_that_so

You really should check with them on their policy. "I didn't know" tends not be an acceptable defence. As mentioned policies vary. Smaller companies tend to be more stringent and it can also depend on the type of organisation. I have had dealings with a number who deal a lot with the public and their regime is much stricter. All employees get and sign a copy of the IT policy. In the main this is to avoid the scenario where people waste hours doing non-productive web activities. Ultimately it is their network and they determine what people can and can't do however unfair that might seem.