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New study reinforces Webspy’s internet monitoring ideology
April 2009 by Marc Jacob
WebSpy welcomes the findings from a recent employee Internet usage study carried out by the University of Melbourne. WebSpy strongly advocates that employee Internet usage should not be banned or restricted using blocking and filtering software. The company retains that limiting or denying employees’ Internet access to improve productivity can create employee resentment and actually reduce productivity by complicating and delaying accomplishment of tasks.
The University of Melbourne’s findings reinforce WebSpy’s ideology and also draws attention to the fact that ‘Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing’ (WILB) actually increases employee concentration levels and helps make a more productive workforce.
Dr Brent Coker, from the University’s Department of Management and Marketing, says, “Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online under the pretence that it costs millions in lost productivity. That’s not always the case." Coker states that, “People who do surf the Internet for fun at work - within a reasonable limit of less than 20% of their total time in the office - are more productive by about 9% than those who don’t.”
The attraction of WILB, can be attributed to people’s imperfect concentration. Dr Coker says, “People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration. Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days’ work, and as a result, increased productivity."
WebSpy’s CEO, Jack Andrys, says, “This study highlights the beneficial psychological impact reasonably unrestricted Internet access has on employees and thus productivity. The findings should convince even the most conservative organizations to be more lenient and allow for a certain amount of unrestricted online use.” Andrys concludes “As long as an Internet Usage Policy is established, well communicated and managed to prevent misuse, the majority of employees will prefer monitored Internet access to restricted or blocked access.”
