InternetSafety.com

We constantly recieve calls from small business asking what they can do to filter and monitor employee internet activity. The callers want to know two things:

1. How much work time is being wasted by employees chatting, social networking, and shopping online?
2. What can I do to protect my company from the liability and embarrassment that could result from an employee viewing pornographic material at work?

Unfortunately, these are very real concerns in the workplace. As for point 1, there is some debate about whether allowing workers a certain amount of “leisure” time online doesn’t in fact help productivity. But few employers would argue that this is a privilege that could be easily abused without monitoring technology.

No one would argue that there is any debate surrounding point 2. Aside from being completely inappropriate, employees viewing pornography at work risk their own termination and put their employers at risk of being sued under sexual harassment law as well.

The problem is bigger than common sense would dictate. Most anyone would acknowledge that viewing porn at work would get them fired immediately, yet according to a Newsweek article published in November of 2008, as many 25 percent of workers view it at work. Aside from the obvious “hostile work environment” created when employers are exposed to offensive and explicit images, employers also stand liable if coworkers use chat rooms or forums provided by their employers to circulate offensive language as well, as in the case of Blakey vs. Continental Airlines. Just earlier this month, an appellate court in Ohio upheld a felony conviction of a worker for using his company computer to upload nude pictures of himself and view pornography.

These cases and statistics are more than enough to send employers running to their phones to buy Ethershield, but even more problems for companies are waiting to arrive via the information super-highway. If someone is willing to risk their job to look at pornography, and if the neurochemicals released are the same as those released by drug use, how long will it be before pornography addiction is clinically recognized as a mental illness along with other drug addictions that produce similar risky behavior for similar rewards? Attempting to fire an employee with a mental illness is a minefield for employers.

Given these alarming trends, it is no wonder that more and more businesses are employing content filters and tracking software at work.

Filed under: Internet Safety News