MyRagan roundupBlock the Internet at work? Communicators weigh in

The C-suite thinks the Internet kills productivity. What do MyRagan communicators think?

Should companies restrict access to the Internet to boost productivity? Are social media sites killing corporate profits? How do communicators deal with company policies that block them from YouTube, blogs and networking platforms?

The debate rages on, but sometimes it sounds a bit like the battle over condom distribution.

The analogy goes something like this: Let employees use the Internet and everybody will go bonkers, abstinence will go out the window and the company’s bottom line will suffer; put a restriction on the Internet, however, and the everyone will behave themselves and productivity will soar.

Let there be no mistake about it: Countless studies have come down on the side of management. Recent studies, in fact, show workers spending more than 18 hours a week visiting Web sites during working hours, and employees have all but confessed to using the Internet for personal reasons. The International Data Corporation has conducted a few studies of its own and estimates that 30 percent to 40 percent of Internet use by employees is not work related. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, 92 percent of online stock trading occurs from the workplace during work hours and 46 percent of holiday shopping takes place at work online.