Employees should not take it personally. IT ONLY TAKES ONE. Chances are that ONE is no longer around to tell their story given their release due to the violation of company policy. Chances are it started over 30 years ago and ONE is released every decade.
I bet there are a lot of folks that know someone that knows someone who was released due to inappropriate use of company resources. You can tell employees "hey, the company can track your computer use down to the keystroke" and someone will eventually find a way to have HR free them to browse the internet at their pleasure.
Perception is 9/10 of the work law or perhaps that is one of those other "P" words. While it may be inconvenient, I recommend providing notification to a direct report as to one's browsing needs. Typically, with the proper justification, companies have protocols for accessing blocked sites or unblocking sites that are defined as necessary. They may also have safer alternatives to those sites.
When the single click can result in the spread of adverse programs or subroutines across a company intranet, to paraphrase K. Miller view it as an IT cybersecurity strategy. I looking to implement this strategy on home computers.
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James Williams P.E., M.ASCE
Principal/Owner
POA&M Structural Engineering, PLC
Yorktown, VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-08-2022 11:51 AM
From: Daniel Bressler
Subject: Sowing Distrust
Shouldn't there be a level of trust that the employee won't browse the internet during work hours?
I understand that employers would not want an employee distracted during work hours. An employer can rightfully say: "If you don't go onto distracting sites then why would you care if the site is blocked?"
I'm disregarding the defense that one can use YouTube videos to try to understand a concept (before asking/bothering my manager) because I'm curious about the employer/employee relationship.
Does having blocked sites plant a small seed of distrust in an employee?
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Daniel Bressler EIT, A.M.ASCE
Structural Engineer
Brooklyn NY
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