Last month, a study revealed that banning access to websites at work actually decreases staff productivity. It said that taking an online break during the course of the working day helps reduce stress and results in a more happier workplace.
The results were taken with a pinch of salt by some because the study was commissioned by a company that made online video games.
But now we have results of a new study done by researchers from Ohio State University and University of California and it seems to agree a lot with the previous findings.
Installing filters to block access to Web sites and e-mail services could backfire by reducing job satisfaction and thus productivity.
This report says that people may use the Web at work to help balance job and life responsibilities; with the personal matters taken care of from work, they can focus on the task at hand.
So you have enough material now for convincing boss to let you check Gmail and watch YouTube videos at work.
Related: How to Access Blocked Sites
Find this article at: http://www.labnol.org/software/organize/blocking-access-to-web-sites-at-work-could-backfire/3634/
web: http://www.labnol.org/ email: amit@labnol.org
Reader Comments
i think banning popular sites at work place will obviously backfire, company should create hassle free environment for their worker for the quality work they deliver.
Written by Deepak Jain on 06.19.08
I think a balanced approach is needed here. A total ban on internet is sure to employee dis-satisfaction. Companies should let employees access general work related sites. For e.g developers need to be able to instantly search for code snippets. However, sites like YouTube which serve videos & mp3 will hog network bandwidth. This will degrade other genuine internet access users available bandwidth. Access to email sites like Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, is debatable. While most of us would like to check emails during work, even for genuine reasons, but it will waste company work time. Other option could be Companies create Kiosks to allow employees access their personal emails for limited time.
Written by RohitBlog on 06.19.08
A related post at Infosys blog on this topic:
link
I feel employees can be allowed personal browsing before and office hours, or some kind of performance based relaxation (to access personal sites) can be thought about.
Written by Shrinidhi Hande on 06.20.08
Yes, i will agree with you amit.But too much of anything will have a negative result.Isn’t it ??
I think most of the corporate professionals know their linmits.
Written by kishore on 06.20.08
yeah .. blocking would backfire. its natural human nature to do what he is not allowed to de. Like the Adam and Eve story… lol
Written by Arun Basil Lal on 06.21.08
I dont think people will stop using websites even if they are blocked. There are tons of ways of accessing websites, DI have lots of ways of accesing blocked websites. So users will eventually spend time on these websites and loose concentration from work. This problem is no there if they are allowed to access these websites. Then they will have their own responsibility and will limit the usage. This gives them more freedom and thats all that we need.
Written by Arun Basil Lal on 06.21.08