E-Mail and Internet Use
Without a doubt, electronic mail and the Internet have changed the way that companies in the U.S. — and the world — do business. An estimated 72 million employees are now using e-mail and will generate some four trillion messages this year. The World Wide Web is now an integral part of many companies' marketing, sales and customer-service strategies and an essential tool in many employees' day-to-day job tasks.
But with all of the potentially positive uses of e-mail and the Internet come potential abuses as well. Of 1,200 companies surveyed recently about Internet usage, 54% reported that they had caught employees browsing Web sites that were unrelated to their work — some up to eight hours per day! Not only can unauthorized Internet usage take a huge toll on employee productivity, but it can divert network resources from "mission critical" company functions. Improper or indiscriminate use of e-mail can also lead to employee and company liability for workplace discrimination (including sexual harassment), copyright infringement, securities-law violations, antitrust violations, the loss of company trade secrets, and other legal and practical problems.
Program Summary
The topics covered in the program include —
- Overview of e-mail and Internet usage by employees
- Purpose, scope and coverage of the policy
- Monitoring and access by the company
- Personal use
- E-mail usage
- Internet usage
- Other computer usage
- Violations
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