• silicon.com
• Technology
• Security

By silicon.com, 13 August 2003 16:42

NEWS 13.08.98 Employees spend 25 per cent of online time accessing sites not related to work, according to a report out today from CheckNet. The firm's Surfwatch software analyses the internet activities of staff during working hours for companies in Europe and the US, so managers can monitor bandwidth usage. The amount of time wasted is up 6.5 per cent from three months ago but Theresa Marcroft, author of the report, said: "Work slows down during the summer months and people have more time for recreational surfing." Paul Jackson, consultant at Deloitte & Touche, said: "This is an alarming statistic for IT managers who have sold the internet as a useful business resource. Most organisations would like their staff's attention to be exclusively focused on work but that is just not what happens. It is also difficult to measure private internet use against private telephone or fax use." 13.08.03 Such concerns were common in the early days of web access at desktops across UK Plc. The same had been said about plain email and before that telephony. Recently the scare has been about letting IM into companies. What we now know is that people do use all technologies for personal use but guess what - it's worth it. The productivity gains - not to mention the familiarity of applications built up through casual use - usually means there is no going back. We still here about companies where internet access is limited to certain work-oriented sites or is only possible from a single PC in the corner of the office. Shame on you - trust your workers and move into the 21st century.