Posted: April 26th, 2022

Limiting Employees on Internet Access

Computer Sciences and Information Technology
Limiting Employees on Internet Access
Employers can use a number of products to monitor their employees’ use of the Internet. These products report an employee’s access to non-business-related websites. Advocates insist that these products conserve network resources, make workers more productive, and discourage downloading of objectionable material. Opponents maintain, however, that determining business-related sites often is a matter of opinion. In addition, the time spent at home on work-related issues more than balances any office non-business Internet use. Companies have devised a range of Internet policies, from strict limitations on personal use to reliance on employee’s discretion.

Consider that you are responsible for deciding if there should be limitations on an employee’s access to the Internet at work for your company and explain what your decision would be as well as why you would make that choice.

What might be the disadvantages of allowing unlimited access? What might be the advantages?

Limiting Employees on Internet Access
While the internet has come with benefits such as improving organizational functions, some disadvantages make management limit employees’ access. The internet is broad with all kinds of information, and when not controlled, may turn out to be a distraction. Thus, most firms have opted to limit internet access for employees to keep them on track and maintain performance. There are also numerous dangers for companies to consider when allowing their staff to access unlimited internet. As much as there are constructive activities one can undertake, there are also criminals online who prey on unaware users. The issue of unlimited internet access at the workplace is a topic that should be discussed in-depth to determine the necessary control measures to take.
A company must realize the need to limit internet access. The sooner an organization realized this, the easier it can protect itself from the worldwide web’s dangers. The internet offers email, eCommerce and research tools vital for employee communication (Patrick, n.d). On the other hand, however, unlimited internet will bring distractions that range from entertainment to gambling and pornography. When an employee’s attention shifts away from work, performance will decline, and the organization may face challenges in their financial sector. People walk into office spaces only to be met by personnel who are so occupied by the YouTube screen on their computers pretending to be busy. Issues such as screen addiction should be considered as they are on the rise today. According to Deyan (2020), 66% of adults globally exhibit signs of screen addiction. That right, there is the fact that internet access should be limited while at the office.
And while chances of distraction are all too high, there are other reasons why organizations need to limit internet access. One of the reasons for unrestricted access is security risks (Rutherford, 2019). As mentioned earlier, the internet has all types of people online, including cyberterrorists. Despite the level of security measures implemented at a company, malicious people will always work towards penetrating the system. All it may take is finding a naïve person on the inside to let them in. An employee browsing negligently may click on links set to download viruses, open email attachments that have Trojans, or unknowingly permit spyware onto the network. Often, employees cannot even distinguish a cyber-attack if it occurred right in front of their faces. It would be much safer to determine what the employee can do when they are online rather than give those tools whose full capabilities they know not.
According to Rutherford (2019), security risks may lead to the second reason why the internet should be limited – legal liability. Organizations open doors to a whole possibility of legal issues when they fail to control internet access. If a machine is hacked at all, and the attacker releases personally identifiable information online, the organization will have to face the consequences. Today, the justice department is all too serious about ensuring companies follow the policies and protocols used to govern information technology. Some employees may download copyrighted content that may jeopardize an organization is found in the machines. Regardless of who downloaded the item, the organization shall be held liable as the machines belong to them.
Lastly, whatever the advantages of unlimited access, wasting bandwidth is a common issue that may dig deep into the IT budget. Every action employees perform online is calculated within the allocated bandwidth (Rutherford, 2019). If they download movies, music, or stream the news, then the organization should be prepared to upgrade if at all the connection slows down. Upgrades cost more money meaning the company will channel more funds to sustain fast access. Sometimes, however, the most reasonable remedy is shaping traffic, controlling and routing the network. Some may say that the internet should not be limited. Claims defend issues such as keeping employees happy, creating a fun and free company image, staying updated and inspiring employees (Patrick, n.d). All these are viable points about unlimited access, but organizations need to know that restricted access is a matter of opinion. Since the issue or internet access is slowly becoming a Human Resource matter due to its direct impact on performance, there is a need for IT and HR to work together to define restricted access.
In conclusion, measures to control internet access at the workplace are vital within an organization’s environment. When the pros and cons are weighed, there seem to be too many disadvantages alongside unlimited access. While unlimited internet promotes freedom, it also poses a danger to a company’s security, legal, financial, and productivity aspects. Human resource management is more concerned with employee performance hence the need to play a role in the decisions made on internet access. Prevention from risk is important because it minimizes the chances of facing unlimited access consequences. Hopefully, more organizations will embark on restricted internet access to avoid sabotage. And as said earlier, restrictions are a matter of opinion that can range from full restriction to flexible restriction strategies.
References
Deyan, G. (2020). 51+ Scary Smartphone Addiction Statistics for 200 [ Nomophobia on the Rise]. Retrieved from https://techjury.net/blog/smartphone-addiction-statistics/#gref
Patrick, E. (n.d.) Employee Internet Management: Now an HR Issue. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/cms_006514.aspx
Rutherford, R. (2019). Why do companies need to control internet access? Retrieved from https://www.quostar.com/blog/why-do-companies-need-to-control-internet-access/

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