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Surfing the net at work

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
With all office-based employers now having computers for staff. What are people's experience of non-work related internet use at work. Some employers are tough and may sack employees for excessive internet use. I believe most managers would advise their staff to confine surfing the net to lunchtimes. It can be tempting to dip into the worldwide web to look up impending holidays etc, and in some instances workers can get sidetracked into the internet instead of focusing on their duties
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Comments

  • JsTJsT Posts: 18,268 Skive's The Limit
    I've seen both attitudes - some that are strict and insist on no net usage at all and others that don't care as long as the work gets done and your not on something dodgy.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ours varies.
    My job requires internet usage (for downloading software / researching problems) as do other teams in our company. However some of the machines are monitored, with things like Facebook / YouTube etc., being blocked.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Eddish wrote: »
    Ours varies.
    My job requires internet usage (for downloading software / researching problems) as do other teams in our company. However some of the machines are monitored, with things like Facebook / YouTube etc., being blocked.
    One of friend's employer blocks weblinks sent by e-mail. And another friend can't access Facebook in the work premises
    JsT wrote: »
    I've seen both attitudes - some that are strict and insist on no net usage at all and others that don't care as long as the work gets done and your not on something dodgy.

    My employer blocks anything sexual, with a programme to catch such words. And encourages private internet use to be at lunchtime
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    JsT wrote: »
    I've seen both attitudes - some that are strict and insist on no net usage at all and others that don't care as long as the work gets done and your not on something dodgy.

    :yes: I did work somewhere where the temps had no interent access apart from internal websites and email and the permentant staff had more access but no hotmail/youtube/facebook etc.

    I've also worked in places that couldnt care less if I spent 3 hours a day on the net as long as I did the work.

    In my current place I have to use the internet and certain websites a lot to do my job, but keep any private surfing to lunch or outside of work where possible.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My employers pretty cool. Facebook and YouTube are blocked but porns fair game, not that Ive tried. ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Calvin wrote: »
    My employers pretty cool. Facebook and YouTube are blocked but porns fair game, not that Ive tried. ;)

    One of the IT maintainance techs did. He flicked off the screen when colleagues walked in. On investigation into his computer account, management found he had looked at hard porn at work. Hence marched off his desk and P60 tax summary
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    JsT wrote: »
    I've seen both attitudes - some that are strict and insist on no net usage at all and others that don't care as long as the work gets done and your not on something dodgy.

    :yes:

    My current employers get all itchy about any net usage in working hours, on the grounds that my boss thinks internet pirates will row down the phone lines and steal our company information. Apparently there isn't the same risk at lunchtime, or from his machine :chin:

    In my old job you could look at whatever you wanted (within reason - obv nothing illegal) as long as the work got done. I miss it :(
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My employers seem fine about it. I'm always walking past people, even management type people who are having a quick flick on Facebook. As long as you dont take the piss its fine ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Olive wrote: »
    :yes:

    My current employers get all itchy about any net usage in working hours, on the grounds that my boss thinks internet pirates will row down the phone lines and steal our company information. Apparently there isn't the same risk at lunchtime, or from his machine :chin:

    In my old job you could look at whatever you wanted (within reason - obv nothing illegal) as long as the work got done. I miss it :(
    Remember earning the money comes before pleasure!

    GoodFella wrote: »
    My employers seem fine about it. I'm always walking past people, even management type people who are having a quick flick on Facebook. As long as you dont take the piss its fine ;)
    Managers are probably the worst- in their little offices where no one sees
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    In my work we have wireless internet set up for leisure as we need to have frequent breaks. Only, everything under the sun is blocked.

    I now bring my own 3G net to do whatever I fancy doing at work. :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Jaloux wrote: »
    In my work we have wireless internet set up for leisure as we need to have frequent breaks. Only, everything under the sun is blocked.

    I now bring my own 3G net to do whatever I fancy doing at work. :thumb:
    Sounds repressive- at least you've found a way round it
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    KiwiFruit wrote: »
    Remember earning the money comes before pleasure!

    Which is why I'm an advocate of 'do what you want as long as you get the work done'.

    Bored, repressed employees are not productive employees.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I only have access to the intranet and *.gov websites, people who want full access have to submit a business case to the bosses at HQ.
    It's really not worth the hassle.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's best to keep your employees happy, but not every company manager realises that.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    We use to have a relaxed approch towards it, work done they didn't batter to much of an eye lid, however clamped down now with link loggers and monitor everything on the system, including whos looking at what,

    however, linklogger ain't working atm hense why i am posting this.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What are you doing at work so late?!?!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Whowhere wrote: »
    What are you doing at work so late?!?!


    ME? Late shift tonight, I work in the hotel industry and my shifts are iregular, the ones we get are

    06.30 - 14.30
    07.30 - 15.30
    09.30 - 17.30
    10.00 - 18.00
    14.00 - 22.00
    15.00 - 23.00

    I'm on the 15.00-23.00 at present.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i think it should be allowed so long as everyone is getting what they need to get done finished and it isn't illegal or inappropriate for the work place.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hellfire wrote: »
    ME? Late shift tonight, I work in the hotel industry and my shifts are iregular, the ones we get are

    06.30 - 14.30
    07.30 - 15.30
    09.30 - 17.30
    10.00 - 18.00
    14.00 - 22.00
    15.00 - 23.00

    I'm on the 15.00-23.00 at present.

    Do you get a chance to surf working in a hotel?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah, course i do, im at a desk all day :)

    however im not "allowed" too
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it's strange that a hotel would goto the time and expense of installing a system like that anyway.
    What else could you be doing beside using the net if your job is to sit at a desk?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Its not really hard to install, basicly all it is is a £100 program which sits on the server pc (where the internets routed through) and reads network address of whos using the net, it details

    network address (which pc)
    I.P of website visited
    Lengh of Visit

    they believe there is always something else I could be doing, and should never have time to serve the net, or use the net on there time.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Olive wrote: »
    Bored, repressed employees are not productive employees.

    This is true. But also if bosses allow their employees to do just as much as they feel is appropriate employees will happily take the piss (from scientific studies which I cba to cite right now :p) so it's about finding a happy medium I think.

    When I worked for a bank it was pretty awesome. Internet was blocked but we were allowed to take breaks whenever we liked and there was so much work to get done anyway that it wasn't a case of sitting about all day. My boss sat next to me and there was no 'office / no office' division, she had a table and desk just like mine and so was down to earth but at the same time if someone did take the piss could shout at them. Once or twice I took phone calls at work and she didn't mind at all.

    My current job I'm a receptionist basically and so end up on the internet a fair bit. Not as bad as one of the other lads who tried to install crysis on the office machine :p.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    We can do whatever we want. Nothing is blocked and as long as the work's done they don't care -obviously I wouldn't sit there looking at say porn whilst working but if we really wanted to there is nothing to stop us!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kazbo wrote: »
    We can do whatever we want. Nothing is blocked and as long as the work's done they don't care -obviously I wouldn't sit there looking at say porn whilst working but if we really wanted to there is nothing to stop us!

    You've got liberal management- bet you feel good being trusted
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    This is true. But also if bosses allow their employees to do just as much as they feel is appropriate employees will happily take the piss (from scientific studies which I cba to cite right now :p) so it's about finding a happy medium I think.

    Or you could just not be a shit, lazy boss and actually discipline people who take the piss. Then you wouldn't have to penalise everyone? :chin:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm free to use the internet as much as I want, providing I do the work. The building's dead at the minute (I think they're all being good boys and girls and are revising hard) so I'm on the net a lot. Some weeks I barely have time to check my work email, let alone shite like Facebook.

    At the minute I've got Last FM playlist open and (judging by the pounding bass from next door) my boss has her happy hardcore raver playlist open too. Anything to drown up SUB TV I guess.

    And as I'm on JANET, nothing is blocked :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote: »
    I'm free to use the internet as much as I want, providing I do the work. The building's dead at the minute (I think they're all being good boys and girls and are revising hard) so I'm on the net a lot. Some weeks I barely have time to check my work email, let alone shite like Facebook.

    At the minute I've got Last FM playlist open and (judging by the pounding bass from next door) my boss has her happy hardcore raver playlist open too. Anything to drown up SUB TV I guess.

    And as I'm on JANET, nothing is blocked :D

    Schools are strange workplaces- mega busy at times then the lull periods mean chance to freely surf the net. I work in a school too
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My work is great, you can do basically what you want, when you want online, as long as you aren't seen to be really obvious about it. And if it's quiet, it doesn't matter how obvious you are about it, because there is nothing else to do, and the bosses know that. I heart my job! :-)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    An old place of work I was at, were quite lax, if you were not looking at porn or anything illegal, and the work was getting done, they didnt mind.
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