Cyber slacking - Internet access is often abused in workplace

The Internet is no longer a luxury for many businesses. It is emerging as a vital tool as companies increasingly rely on up-to-date, relevant information and instantaneous communication with colleagues and customers.

It's a powerful instrument, but one more and more employees are abusing.

More employees are taking advantage of their company-provided access to the World Wide Web at work, whether they are shopping for travel bargains, checking for stock prices or even keeping up with the latest celebrity gossip on entertainment sites.

In fact, recent studies show the number of people who go online at work for personal reasons reached almost 53 million in 2001, up from 45 million in 2000, and is expected to increase to 58 million by the end of this year.

And it's costing business owners billions each year, according to recent data.

"I've seen some studies that are scary," said Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce president John Mehner. "People are talking about it in our meetings, and it's a problem."

A big part of Internet abuse is sending private e-mails.

"I've heard that more than one-half of e-mails that people are getting at work have nothing to do with work in any way, shape or form," Mehner said.

How it is costing business owners is simple. They pay their employees to produce, and when they're e-mailing jokes to friends or logging on to espn.com to check out how the Cardinals did the night before, it ultimately results in less productivity and lost profits.

"Of course it's a problem for some businesses," said Mike Higgins, a technical engineer with Creative Data Systems in Cape Girardeau. "Any employer wouldn't want workers just kind of wasting time, slacking off. There's some abuse going on."

Accessing pornography, online chatting, gaming, investing or shopping at work are the leading causes for disciplinary action when it comes to Internet abuse.

Higgins said business owners and managers can buy monitoring programs like Surf Control, Web Sense or Web Inspector, which often can block out sites that managers don't want their employees to have access to, such as sites featuring adult-oriented material, sports or entertainment.

Business owners need to draft an Internet usage policy, said Korey Ferland, with Elron Software near Boston. Elron sells such monitoring software to businesses across the country, and he said drafting a policy is the first thing they recommend.

"You have to communicate to your employees what they can and cannot do on the Internet," Ferland said. "But that's really not enough. You have to enforce those policies with the software."

The cost for such software varies depending upon the purchase volume, but it generally runs between $8.95 to $13 per user, he said.

Ferland said that once companies install the software, it's an eye-opening experience.

"Invariably, they see there's a lot of stuff going on they weren't even aware of," he said. "This isn't Big Brother. This is protecting your business."

Judy Wiles, an associate professor of marketing at Southeast Missouri State University who teaches a class on business ethics, said the concern deals with privacy versus productivity.

"Most companies come to the realization that they have to be up front with their employees," she said. "If you're going to monitor your employees, tell them. That way, there won't be an issue."

Wiles said employees should consider what they're using the Internet for at work.

"You don't want to be in a situation where you have to go to another screen because your boss might be looking," she said. "Just use a little common sense."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137