The growth of electronic monitoring has been explosive during the past two years, according to the survey. Blocking access to sites Fifty-four percent of employers report monitoring their employees' Internet connections. Twenty-nine percent block Internet connections to unauthorized or inappropriate Web sites. The companies said in the survey that they monitored Internet activity because they want to avoid sexual harassment and other kinds of lawsuits that could stem from offensive material on display. But they can also be looking to protect trade secrets, boost productivity and keep workers from scouting for new jobs.
Productivity suffers when employees surf the Web on company time.
Employees penalized The larger the company, the more likely it is to engage in monitoring and surveillance activities, the survey says. Respondents from the financial services sector, including banks, brokerages, insurance firms and real estate companies, lead the pack when it comes to monitoring their employees' e-mail, with 55 percent engaged in the practice. Almost three-quarters, or 73 percent, of financial service businesses monitor workers' Internet connections. Examples include the Compaq Computer Corp., which fired 20 employees who had logged more than 10,000 hits apiece on pornographic Web sites. The New York Times Co. recently fired 22 people in Norfolk, Va., and one in New York for sending offensive e-mail.