Half of Britain’s large companies are concerned about personal use of the
internet by staff during work hours.
A survey by Continental Research shows that 50 per cent of businesses with a
turnover of more than £5m are worried about staff internet access.
However, levels of concern seem to depend on the size of the organisation,
with only 19 per cent of medium-size companies expressing anxiety over web
abuse, while just 11 per cent of small firms are worried.
Despite the concerns of big business, only 16 per cent of all companies said
they would go as far as to ban staff from using the internet altogether.
The report also suggests that HR is being overlooked when it comes to the
web, as almost half of the 423 firms questioned have no company policy on staff
internet access.
The majority of large firms, however, have a policy that typically limits
internet use.
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Only 16 per cent of all companies with the internet offer no access to
staff, 18 per cent allow limited access during work breaks, while 23 per cent
allow open access to the web as long as it does not interfere with work.
