Employees access to facebook etc

[fleetwood]

Do you allow your employess free access to the internet at work?

With the growth of social networking sites such as MySpace and facebook, I am noticing my employees accessing these sites during their break times.
I assume they are not being distracted during work times.
Without directly monitoring (spying) on PC usage, its difficult to know for sure (and I'm not sure such monitoring is exactly legal).

For those of you with a few employees, and possibly multiple internet access points, have you any views on this, and do you have any written policies in place to exercise control?

[PaulGrimshaw]

are they allowed to access the web outside of break? if not, you could use the schedule in the router to disable internet from anywhere but your site outside of break times and then not worry about it.

[fleetwood]

Hi Paul

The staff need internet access throughout the day for various work tasks (mainly checking our suppliers for stock, uploading Actinic etc).

I've only really noticed the increase in personal activity over the last 12 months, which sort of ties in with the mass take up of MySpace and Facebook.

Due to lack of space in store, the staff lunch area (read that as desk and chair), are next to one of our PCs (same desk and chair is also a work point when not in lunch use), so they tend to sit there having lunch, browsing the web.

I'm not really a stickler for rules, but am concerened on two fronts:

1) The regularity for checking their network (facebook...) seems to be stepping up

2) (and of greatest concern) - what risks am I placing on our network
They already know they are not allowed to download files, and copy to and from the PC, but with the continual evolvement of web nasties (worms, viruses etc), I don't want any stupidness putting our data integrity at risk.

Curious to know how others deal with this.

[pinbrook]

If you feel your business could be put at risk i would seriously consider blocking social networking sites completely.

Your first priority is the integrity of your PC/network and is not providing www access during work breaks.

[gabrielcrowe]

consider this:

its all about trust.

why dont you simply enlighten them on your problem let THEM suggest a solution?

blocking myspace in your socially interactive staff will serve only to annoy them. you'll be the focus of their frustration as well, and general moral.

i'v got a better idea. focus their efforts. get them to make a myspace page for the company and get them to use it to market your company. you'd be very wrong to take any measures to stop them trying to interact with people. they will think you're an ass.

having been on both sides of this problem, please dont take my advice lightly. i'v both been a myspace whore and an annoyed boss.

[gabrielcrowe]

additionally, myspace poses no threat to the firefox browser. neither does facebook.

if used responsibly. for example, its possible to upload jpgs and such to myspace. as well as other files.

...and other files can be downloaded.

dont get me wrong. i hate myspace. its a scourge.

[Duncan Rounding]

A lot of the big companies use Websense, but it's not cheap.

[pnagames]

Martin

i would agree with Gab on this one.

You have to talk to them and explain the issues and problems (dont make it like you dont like them going there for the obvious reasons)

then explain to them the one or two straight solutions (block site) and then ask them to suggest alternatives.

You will find them more than happy to participate in this and also you will give them the feeling of empowrement. (very important to keep staff happy)

(i should stop now cause the next lines will end up quoting books . the brainwashing of the university...)

[george]

Don't employ Goths or Emo's.



Sorted.

[TraceyHand]

Don't employ Goths or Emo's.

your point being.....?
*smirks*

[Jim Riley]

I would encourage you to embrace social networking, and encourage your staff to do the same.

Blocking access is a pointless, demotivating act.

Encourage staff to use facebook, bebo et al, but to moderate use during work hours. Personally I love dipping into Facebook a couple of times a day - particularly as my attention span on other activities wanes.

We set up a tutor2u facebook site, with all the staff registered, and it has quickly become quite popular, & a useful communication & promotional channel. Several of our customers & suppliers use facebook as an informal way of getting in touch with tutor2u - in fact I had three messages today!

Take a look at what all the fuss is about:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2225060777

Jim

[gabrielcrowe]

the difference between people who use the internet and people that make the internet is understanding alone.

the people who simply use it have little real knowledge of security, or possible avenues of attack.

i could destroy a network in seconds. and so, this is why i work here, protecting ours. at some point, a teacher took me aside and explained the consequences of unleashing the things i could do. i remember it well. being banned from using the computers only made me more determined. but having my errors explained to me made me think real hard about the terrible problems i could cause.

the same really goes for the internet as a whole. its a free internet, and to be quite honest, the social revolution is nothing new. I remember IRC, and using it to chat to coders with a view to helping with a project. back in the day when IRC was really the only form of collaboration, other than email. Can you imagine if Actinic had an Internet Relay Chat channel?

This forum itself is actually a form of social networking. it has a focus though, but its still a place where you see if the people you know are online and you sometimes want their input.

This 'freedom of speech' part of discussion is something i hold very dear about the Internet. in fact, its the most important part of the Internet. Forget about commerce and clever technologies and games and such.

the backbone of the internet, is actually the people that use it and their ideas.

[gabrielcrowe]

oh, and Jim.

excellent spin on facebook! well played sir.

[TraceyHand]

Forget about commerce and clever technologies and games and such.

blimey, Gabe...never expected to hear you say that LOL

As for facebook/myspace...well, I prefer FB to Myspace but I have both and I agree that they are a great networking tool (which I spend far too much time on!)

It shouldn't be forgotten though that either can become rather "addictive" (much like chat...ohhhhhhh...we won't go there LOL) and I can see how they *could* intrude on work-time (god knows chat has intruded on enough of my worktime in the last 12 months....cold turkey SUCKS!)

Banning it could be asking for trouble (and mutiny!) but involving yourself in it could be an answer.
At the end of the day there has to be a degree of trust between employer and employee and it's a fine line to walk

[Cheapprices4u]

im sure i read it somewhere a month or so ago
some companies alow personal access to the internet for 20mins a day to allow people to do ebay, myspace, emails etc

sort of a cyber coffee break

saves them skiving at work

they know when they can do it and when they cant

im sure it was someone like virgin