The survey was commissioned by SurfControl, so, naturally, the supporting write-up talked more about draconian efforts to prevent users from accessing Web sites that don't relate to their jobs. Unfortunately, the survey did not ask IT managers whether monitoring employee surfing habits and notifying managers about strict violations transfers the burdens from the Internet connection to its network administrators, but I suspect it does. The line between filtering enough to improve server performance and acting like the IT KGB is not easily drawn. A secondary consequence of being hard-nosed about personal Web surfing is high turnover. Employees like to be able to take breaks to check out their favorite news sites and follow their sports teams.
Most people can balance their job duties and occasional personal interests.
Blocking this activity is a hardship few are comfortable with. And losing good people seems a high price to pay to ensure 100 percent compliance. Also blocking outgoing personal e-mail seems unnecessarily burdensome to employees. Even the definition of personal e-mail can be tricky. Nelson, for example, is one of my best friends, but also is an integral part of our business.