Slacker employees present VAR opportunity

by Dan Blacharski

October 17, 2008 —

I never surfed the Web while working at my desk in the office.

That's a bold claim, and I'm able to make it only because I haven't worked in an office since the Web was invented. If I had that sort of job today, I would probably be the biggest goof-off of them all.

One suggestion, and it sounds like a good one, is to take advantage of would-be office bums like me and turn it into an opportunity, to help firms prevent misuse of company networks during business hours. According to research in the UK, more than three-fourths of employees surveyed carry out personal tasks at work, and don't feel guilty about it. Half of those surveyed make personal phone calls, and 61 percent send non-work-related emails. Seventy-nine percent spend up to half an hour a day surfing the Web for personal reasons.

And if that's not enough, a significant percentage use personal web-based email accounts. Making a few personal phone calls is one thing: It's not going to bring viruses into the company network. But, as everyone knows (with the possible exception of Sarah Palin), using personal web-based email accounts or instant messaging at work can circumvent many of the security protocols that have been put in place. Policies in response to these practices may vary, but the security problems that they could bring will not go away--and this will be a growth area for consultants for years to come.