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OMG Telstra Expects Their Employees To Work!
This just in from the TechCrunch news desk... Facebook access banned on Telstra corporate computers. The horror, the shock, the atrocity of it all. Two employees are reported to resist eating lunch until the access is restored and the Web team have chained themselves to an old AS/400 server just to show how important Facebook is!
We will have reporters on the scene in 24 hours (it's a long trip!) and hope that all heck has not broken loose.
Now, let's get serious for a minute. Companies have the right to do whatever they see fit with their network. You signed an agreement when you started working there. If the company decides to block x site or y use, that's the choice. It's your choice to remain employed with said company or not.
They have reportedly turned Facebook back on, so I have gone ahead and cancelled the charter plane to cover the story from the ground. Cameron Reilly says, "I explained that any half-intelligent employer in the 21st century should be measuring their employees by their OUTPUT, not by what time they punch the clock or what they are doing each minute of the day."
I agree and disagree. I agree that companies need to change their ways of tracking an employee's results, but at the same time, not all employees can deal without precise monitoring. As more of the older generations move out of the workforce, more "open tracking" will be used, but for now, limiting an employee's Internet usage doesn't appear half-bad.
While this is a nice bash on duncan/TC, I disagree that limiting internet usage of employees is half-good. Check out what bestbuy has been doing. They have some term for it, but it is results-oriented.
Wasn't this the same attitude that business had 10 years ago about employees accessing the Internet? Has the Internet augmented or diminished organisational performance in the last 10 years? Hmmmm... It's not that hard to answer.
Social networking sites like Facebook, are more than just distractions to employees. They are an integral part of the future of human communication. Denying employees access to Internet sites is draconian, industrial age, corporate behavior that stems from fear and being out of touch with contemporary thinking. It's the employer saying, "I don't trust you. I need to monitor you during the day and limit your access to things that might distract you're little brain whilst I'm paying you to do a job." I'm sure the managers and executives of these corporations have access to anything they want. Is this because they're smarter or more responsible or more trusted or just better people? Of course not. It's because they can.
Admittedly there are organisations and individuals within organisations that deal with confidential and/or sensitive information. These exceptional cases need to have the appropriate level of risk controls in place, the first being good, clear policies.
Hello Allen, we're in the 21st century where information and knowledge drive value. Does it make sense to restrict people (most organisations' most valued asset) from accessing, contributing to, leveraging, the most effective communication platforms available today. Telstra came to their senses and reinstated access. It may be about time for you to come to your senses too.
I worked for an Australian telco about 20 years ago and we had our desk phone usage monitored for 'personal calls'. We couldn't be trusted then to use the office phone appropriately, and we definitely can't be trusted to use our PC appropriately now. :)