Web Rules!
I have an elderly aunt and uncle who are making a point of never joining the online world. It's sad, in a way, because I believe that making the point has become more important than truly analyzing what might be available for them, or not, online. Certainly, my aunt who is a great crafter, is missing all of the online interaction potential with other crafters in the rich, sharing craft communities that exist today. And, my uncle, who sings, is missing the same in the music community online.
In recent Web news, I understand that the over 60 crowd is the fastest growing group of Internet users, so this is exciting - another layer of richness in middle age lives. I was also interested to note in more Web use news from Reuters, that just under a third of American households do not have access to the Internet - and most don't plan it for the future. So maybe my aunt and uncle, and the other potential users just don't know what is available?
Only part of the answer, it turns out. The rest involves factors such as fourteen percent of people surveyed don't plan to have the Internet at home any time soon because they do all of their cybershopping and YouTube watching at work. Not good news for employers, especially if these activities fill work time, not break time.
Several years ago, a client company had to fire an employee who was watching pornographic movies on his computer at work. Another employee at a client company was surfing to recipe sites, banking and bill paying, and job hunting six hours per day. The employee quit just as she was going to be fired.
I am okay with a certain amount of online activity at work. It may make for happy, engaged employees, and save the employer work time that is not spent traveling to perform needed activities. But enough is enough. You need well-crafted policies that recognize a certain amount of employee freedom while reminding people that the employer owns anything created at work - and has the right to access the material. The Web has positive and negative uses at work.
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Comments
This makes sense for a more rigid company, but how would I word it for a more casual workplace?