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> I can't walk through the office without hearing "click", "click", "Click" as
> people hide Facebook, IM screens, personal emails or whatever. I'm all for
> personal freedoms and treating everyone like responsible adults,
> but at what point do you say, "Enough!" ?
I know what you mean. You'd think those people would know enough not to
click their mouse and instead press command-H. That's much quieter.
> Our current policy is open internet for everyone, but I've been seeing enough
> evidence to make me seriously consider limiting access. I'm curious what kind
> of policies most people have encountered out there. Open access? No
> access? Limited access?
I've had to deal with varying levels of control (at various times as an
employee, manager, and boss). Some places use software that tracks the the
amount of time each computer user spends running different apps and visiting
different sites...and doesn't tell the users. That seems a little draconian.
Some restrict access to specific sites (Facebook, YouTube, and the like) and
disallow users to install software (including plug-ins) not deemed necessary
for their job. That also seems a bit much.
But most of those deal with corporate-owned computers at companies with
dedicated IT departments. I think with smart phones, personal laptops, and
just the nature of our media-drenched jobs, things get more difficult.
Tangential anecdote: Some people who may want to control their time-wasting
computing habits just can't do so on their own. Several years ago, a friend
of mine ended up firing someone who, despite repeated warnings and offers to
help, just couldn't stop playing Windows Solitaire. That wasn't an internet
access problem, but I'd guess it's related.
And some of the Facebook and IM stuff is like the OT discussions and
schmoozing on FCP-L...it's a social thing kinda related to work. It's not
all bad (but it's also not all good).
Maybe a serious talk/memo to the staff saying you're considering installing
internet monitoring software, but before you do that you'd like to encourage
everyone to limit their net cruising to specific times of the day (like a
coffee break, after returning from a short lunch, etc). And then maybe offer
them some tools to help them keep on task.
Oh there are probably a bunch of them...Go find a GTD fascist...I mean "GTD
enthusiast" for some recommendations.
One app that might useful is Freedom:
===
Freedom is an application that disables networking on an Apple computer for
up to eight hours at a time. Freedom will free you from the distractions of
the internet, allowing you time to code, write, or create. At the end of
your selected offline period, Freedom re-enables your network, restoring
everything as normal.
Freedom enforces freedom; a reboot is the only circumvention of the Freedom
time limit you specify. The hassle of rebooting means you're less likely to
cheat, and you'll enjoy enhanced productivity. Freedom is free, but if you
find Freedom useful, please consider a donation of ten dollars to fund
continuing development.
There's also RescueTime that tells you (and here "you" can mean either "The
Man" or "each individual user") how computing time is spent and allows some
restriction of specific websites. The version that lets each individual
privately track his or her computing use seems empowering. The version that
lets the boss track everyone's computing use seems a bit more in their face.
But as a first step, you could encourage folks to check out the individual
(and free) version:
I bet if you search on "Freedom" and "RescueTime" you'll find some other
apps and approaches to the problem. I read about them somewhere at the
beginning of this year (I think it was...).
The best thing is to help individuals have the tools and skills to remain
productive during work hours. But if you're paying them to perform a
specific set of tasks or type of work and they are spending time (and
therefore getting paid) to mess around with Facebook....Well, if they aren't
acting like professional adults, then they shouldn't be surprised if the
company doesn't treat them that way.
Obviously talk to HR, but I'd think going for personal empowerment first
(even though I don't really like the term "empowerment") is a good,
friendly, and possibly fruitful first step.
Or so it seems to me at this late hour...now that I'm finally done with my
computer work...
I look forward to reading what others think here. And Mark, if you can, let
us know what you end up deciding to do.
Jim
--
Jim Feeley
POV Media
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