So far we have discussed cyberslacking, whether or not it is acceptable and to what extent is okay. Carolina has described the alternatives employers can implement to help control the rising concern of cyberslacking. For my last post I wanted to discuss the use of smart phones to access the Internet during work hours. Since cell phones have come about phone usage policies have been put into place, likewise for personal use of the Internet during work hours. However, with Internet usage scrutiny at work, blocked Websites and so forth, people are turning to their smart phones to access sites such as Facebook, You Tube and Pandora to fill their need for immediate gratification or basically to fill the void that the employee may be suffering from do to lack of work.
Now the questions arises how are employers going to approach this challenge. Unless a phone is issued by the workplace I feel that it would be difficult for an employer to control what is accessed using the phone. In my opinion the employer would have to restrict the use of the cell phone, if there is not already a policy in place. With this, many additional challenges will arise, such as, employees use their cell phones for work, they need to be reached in case of emergency, etc.
As an employer or business owner, how would you approach this issue from the arguments above and others that are not listed that may arise in the workplace regarding cell phone use and its many different applications?
Yeah, ban the cell phones! This has been going on in many companies already. The reason for this restriction is that it can cause a privacy breach. Many financial institutions have this policy in place. If you can imagine the amount of vital information your utility, phone, mortgage, medical, or retailer companies have on you, would you want Silly-Sally or Crazy-Ed taking pictures of this information? This is the exact reasons for the phone restrictions. The way that companies are working with this restriction is that they are issuing front-line management with non-camera phones for business purposes. In case of emergencies, your family members are to call any of the management, the department phone, or HR to get a hold of you. I know it is a pain in the rear and an invasion of your freedoms, but since you are at work, you are under company laws.
ReplyDeleteAs an employer I would implement a cell phone policy. The policy would basically ensure that the phones were not in use during work hours seeing as the phone will be accessible during breaks and any entertainment use from the phone will be there when the person gets off of work. The policy will be emailed to every employee after they attended the seminar about the policy. The punishment will vary from a simple warning. Upon further violation the person will have to be sent home for the day if they are caught on the phone, as a way to dock wages. The final offense the employee will be fired for violation of the company policies. It is up to the company to enforce the level of productivity and of the employees and with the addiction that people have to their cellar devices these days there have to have a sense of when and where to use their phone. If it was not for an emergency it will not be tolerated for the employee to use their phone at work.
ReplyDeleteResponse by: Bryan Gaither
I feel like it's always so hard for some people to overcome temptation and sneakily check Facebook updates or Twitter posts every 10 minutes while at work. I think usually employees in lower positions are the main cyber slackers in the company and not their more higher status collegeaues, with more valued roles, such as managerial staff. I think every company should have policy about using smart phones at work to reduce the negative impact of cyberslacking on the company.
ReplyDeleteIf the smartphone is not being used for business purposes or during an employee's breaks, then it should not be used. Any amount of time an employee spends on their smartphone for personal reasons is time that I will be paying them for. This could add up fairly quickly, especially if multiple employees are doing this. It would be unfair to me, my business, my other employees, and the shareholders. The money being spent to pay for this mobile cyberslacker's paycheck could be used for bonuses at the end of the year or raises for the other employees. If it were my company, I would definitely restrict the use of smartphones for personal use.
ReplyDeleteIt is all depend on what kind of job do you have. If there are business, marketing or management fields which closely connect with using internet during the day. For example, your employee can respond to customer even during lunch time or in the evening by answering on emails. If you have a restaurant or construction business, you would not probably allow your employee check his cell-phone every single minute.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a employer I would invest in making my building into a dead zone. That way no one will be able to access there phone in the building. And also I will not let use Wifi in order to get on to the internet. There would be a work phone for work reasons or for any family emergencies that have occurred. There would be restrictions on the computers so employees can do things I allow them to and restrict what I think is unnecessary. I know this is kind of strict but I am positive it would make the output way better then it would be if these things were not into play.
ReplyDelete