Are Your Employees Cyberloafing?- By John P Kallis

The growing problem of employees wasting time on the Internet during work hours has become such a common challenge facing business owners and managers that the term "cyberloafing" has been coined to describe it. Some studies suggest that U.S. workers spend as much as 20% or more of every work day doing personal tasks on the World Wide Web. Apparently, some people will do just about anything to avoid work, including shopping, banking and paying bills, reading local news and weather reports, communicating with family and friends through social media sites and much more. Considering all the temptations presented by the Internet, it's no wonder that cyberloafing has become such a challenge for management.

If you believe that your workers are wasting time on the Internet, you might be tempted to use remote monitoring software or some type of tool to block sites that aren't work related. Unfortunately, neither of those choices can completely resolve the issue. While it may sound helpful to block sites, you should know that many products designed to do this end up blocking entire categories of Web sites, some of which your workers may actually need in order to do their jobs. Remote monitoring software may help to identify which employees are wasting the most time and which sites they're visiting, but simply knowing that information won't help you to fix the problem.

Another complicating factor is smart phone technology. Over the past few years, smart phones and notepad computers have become so popular that the vast majority of employees now carry them each and every day. Even if you tried to block Web sites or monitor employees' Internet usage, it still wouldn't stop them from accessing sites on their own personal devices.

In reality, Internet access isn't the issue. The most effective way to combat cyberloafing is to attack the source of the problem, which is a lack of motivation on the part of your workers. No matter what effort you make to limit or monitor employees' Internet usage, you will still face the problem of lack of productivity if your workers aren't motivated to do a good job. The only real solution is to find a means of motivating your employees. Contrary to popular belief, money is not the only motivating factor. There are other ways to reward employees for a job well done, such as more flexible work hours, a longer lunch hour one day a week or a special reserved parking place for an employee who is the most productive during the preceding 30-day period. You might consider establishing an "employee of the month" award to publicly acknowledge the efforts of outstanding workers.

If you suspect cyberloafing may be taking a toll on your business, remember that abusing the Internet is simply a symptom of a much larger problem. Once you find effective ways to motivate your workers, you won't need to block Web sites or monitor their online activity!

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