Comments on: How to Control Cyber Slacking

By: Emmanuel Carabott

Emmanuel Carabott — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:34:33 +0000

@Amber – Indeed it’s hard to draw a line. I will go a step further in that I don’t even think the risk is invasion of privacy, in that, if implemented correctly it just cannot be an invasion of privacy (employees should be advised of any monitoring). There is still an issue in that people don’t like being monitored and will not be happy about it. In some extreme cases it could lower morale and impact productivity too. As always there has to be a balance. I would personally suggest a high level monitor of everything (just checking how much volume you get on the different services, web / email etc..) and then low level monitoring of anything which lights red flags.

@Jenna – I have read such reports too and agree with them as well. Cyberslacking is a relative term, in that if employees spend 5-10 minutes a day checking news and such I wouldn’t even define it as Cyberslacking. To be considered Cyberslacking it needs to be disruptive in my opinion. If an employee spends 20% of his time surfing and then is 5% more productive it’s still a problem after all.

@Andrew and Terry – People ignoring security risks is (alas) not something new. It’s why education on its own is never enough to enforce security in an organization. People who know of a risk still take it because they either believe it cannot happen to them or it’s worth the risk in any case.

By: terry

terry — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:22:15 +0000

@andrew walsh

That’s actually a very interesting thought, and a mighty scary one indeed. It reminds me of studies done on cigarette smokers in search for possible ways to have them quit smoking.

It turns out that the reason why anti-smoking health campaigns never work is that cigarette smokers are already aware of the health hazards of smoking. They just choose to disregard them for the sake of their own addiction.

By: andrew walsh

andrew walsh — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:14:10 +0000

@Diane

I’m not sure if you meant “scrutiny” when you said “security”. But I agree with you in any case. As part of an online marketing firm, I’ve done extensive research on online consumer behavior. I’ve discovered that although users are now more aware than ever about the security threats of social networking, they now spend more time online than ever before. They don’t even adopt new practices to protect themselves against online threats. Apparently, knowing about security concerns is different from acting on them.

By: jenna webb

jenna webb — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:08:00 +0000

Despite the fact that “cyber slacking”, by its sheer definition, is counter productive in a work environment, it’s effect on productivity may not be as serious as one may be led to believe. I’ve read published reports where employees who have access to “leisure sites” are able to work harder and more efficiently during the times that count. Access to these sites allow employees a small window to catch their breath and unwind before going into crunch time.

By: amber greene

amber greene — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:43:29 +0000

I actually just flew in from a productivity seminar over the weekend, and ironically this is one of the top talking points of the seminar. However, there are a good number of key points here that weren’t highlighted in the seminar. But despite that, how does one draw the line between professional monitoring and invasion of privacy? That was one of the questions brought up over the seminar actually. Thanks for the post!

By: Emmanuel Carabott

Emmanuel Carabott — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:12:44 +0000

Indeed it’s always tricky to find a middle ground. Ideally employees should realize that if their employer is not restricting their Internet access it doesn’t mean they can waste time on it. Like you say there is a difference between spending 5 minutes every now and then to spending hours.

From an employer perspective if an employer wishes to allow free access to the Internet I would still recommend they at least keep an eye on their employees’ Internet usage and take corrective measures when this goes beyond a certain acceptable threshold. It doesn’t have to be black and white either, there are other possibilities to allowing access and restricting access such as allowing access to certain sites only at certain times such as during break.

By: Sue Walsh

Sue Walsh — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:06:40 +0000

Social networking is definitely a productivity killer-you say you’re just going to update your status and an hour later you’re still there. It must be a double edged sword for companies with a Facebook presence-they want their employees to be focused on work and keep your network secure (FB has many with phishing scams and malicious apps) yet at the same time Facebook has become a marketing tool!