While the Internet can increase employee productivity, the potential for employee misuse can create a significant downside. The downside may manifest itself as a decrease in employee productivity when there is excessive personal use of the Internet on company time, using company resources. There must also be consideration for controls on inappropriate employee behaviour such as:
- Accessing gambling, auction, hate or pornographic websites
- Visiting sites that engage in, educate on or encourage illegal practices
- Leaking confidential business information
- Engaging in the piracy of copyrighted materials such as software, music, video, movies and literature
Some larger enterprises allow unlimited access to the Internet only for certain employees, e.g., those who are either senior or involved in research. In such cases, access is controlled with documented restrictions on appropriate uses for the Internet when using company-supplied computers and network facilities. At the other extreme, many smaller companies do not have Internet policies and have no written restrictions on use. In such cases, it is prudent to establish a policy that (a) requires that such use be reasonable and (b) specifically prohibits access to inappropriate sites using company equipment.
There may also be government or industry-specific compliance requirements to track and record company communications and transactions. If employees are aware that their activity may be logged, that alone may discourage inappropriate use.
Jeffrey D. Sherman, BComm, MBA, CIM, FCA
Jeffrey Sherman, MBA, FCPA, FCA
Jeffrey is a popular presenter, and was an adjunct professor at York University for 15 years. He is a frequent course director and course author for many organizations, including provincial bodies of Chartered Professional Accountants across Canada.
He has written over 20 books including: Canadian Treasury Management, Canadian Risk Management, and Financial Instruments: A Guide for Financial Managers (all published by Thomson-Reuters/Carswell), as well as Finance and Accounting PolicyPro and Information Technology PolicyPro (guides to governance, procedures, and internal control), and Cash Management Toolkit for Small and Medium Businesses (all published by Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada [CPA Canada]).
Latest posts by Jeffrey Sherman, MBA, FCPA, FCA (see all)
- How does IT recovery planning differ from business continuity planning? - August 4, 2015
- How to manage bank accounts: the basics - July 6, 2015
- Refresher on financial statistics and metrics - April 6, 2015