Does your boss know you do, and do they condone it??? Do you think Federal Workers (those that receive a pay check from our tax dollars) should be allowed to do this??

__________________
Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I am sure that they do it. I was an overpaid State employee and know that I could / did surf the net for LONG periods of time. But should they be allowed to do this...NO, not unless it is part of research of some other necessary aspect of their position. But that's just my opinion.

__________________
email is moserlara@yahoo.com

Yes, yes I do. And yes, yes he does. However, my boss like the free deals and rebates so much, he's opted to stay silent and allow me to continue to associate with all of you during regular working hours. He knows who you are and he LIKES you!

IMO, anyone surfing the internet on an employer's computer should be very sure that the employer doesn't have a problem with it.

I worked for many years in Human Resources for a Fortune 500 company and we had a strict policy of not allowing employees to use the computer for "personal use" even at lunch time. Employees could not even use it to send/receive personal email. And ALL activity on the computer was monitored by a computer department. Quite a few employees were reprimanded and "warned" to stop the activity and several employees were fired for repeat behavior.

My daughter works for a very large banking institution in Human Resources and she was just telling me the other day that they had fired a 60 year old woman who had been with the company for almost 20 years for using her computer to send/receive nasty emails ABOUT HER OWN BOSS (now that was pretty stupid!) She said she felt so sorry for the woman because she got hysterical over losing her good-paying job for something so dumb. The company sent out another "reminder" that day to all employees regarding the prohibition about personal use of their company computers.

I now work for a state agency and -- again -- they monitor every keystroke on government computers.

Since your employer owns your computer, they are completely within their legal rights to monitor your computer activity and READ every single email you send or receive if they choose to do so

Also, I think most people these days understand that even if you delete stuff from your computer, it is still "available" to your employer if they want to retrieve it.

In all seriousness, I would NEVER surf if I worked for a bigger company. The place where I work is very small and the boss is fully aware of what I do. Since my amount of work varies, I am allowed to surf during downtime. I also never type anything I wouldn't want somebody to know or see, precisely for the reasons in KellyJef's post.

It is important to remember your desk, supplies, computer, etc. and even your job aren't really yours. It all belongs to the employer and it's very easy to forget that fact. Sometimes, I really cringe when thinking about how my kids are watched everywhere they go. It's only going to get worse.

I surf on my breaks and at lunch. Occasionally if we are slow I do too but all my work is done. A few people here know I do.

__________________
~~~~**Maryann**~~~~

I just got a firm grip on reality....
Now I can strangle it

I do but only when I have no work to do. Our blocker does prevent me from visiting some spots (like Myspace and for a while Mycokerewards) and a print out of all the sites I/we visit is given to our co VP. I'm not sure how I feel about federal workers surfing but fi they have downtime, I'm just not sure. Tha could be why it takes 6 weeks for an application for Social Security Disability to be processed. So I guess no until I gte something fromt hem within 2 weeks they need to be working and not surfing.

__________________
Laura
Please visit my blog
http://mylifeinlaurasworld.blogspot.com/

I do but I am my own boss When I worked for a fortune 500 company, I rarely did and when I did, it was on lunch or break. The systems are monitored. I personally know 2 people who hit upon a porn site ONCE and were escorted out of the building and fired. I do think too many people are wasting company money surfing the internet. DH's job now filters and reads IM's (which is how I communicate to him instead of phone). You can still IM BUT not too much and nothing foul.

As a business owner, I wouldn't want to be paying my employees money to surf the net for fun unless it was on lunch and then, no downloads, etc. I know a lot of companies who put in "blocks" to prevent *fun* use of the internet and I like those (no ebay, myspace, itunes, etc)

__________________
Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Yes, Its a small company. But , I am sure they know.

God forgive me but I do I do LOL!!! Really quickly I check the Freebie Board for fear of missing a once in a lifetime offer.

__________________

Without Health you have no Wealth!

No, no and no to answer your questions. I think a lot of people would find it very interesting if an objective study were done about productivity (or lack there of) in the work place. With all the electronic toys as in the computer, cell phone and ipods, games, etc. As a customer I see this frequently and wonder why it is allowed. I don't even think it's an expected thing. I think those people don't know any better, as in they've grown up this way. It's there, so they do it. I don't get it, but they do it.

dl

I don't think federal employees should be held to a higher standard when it comes to surfing the net then someone working for a fortune 500 company! If they are allowed then they are allowed, (especially if it doesn't effect their job) if they don't have permission thats when I would have issues. Plus it depends on the circumstance, if its a solider stationed in Germany while his wife and kids are back in the states and he wants to send an appropriate email after work telling her he is okay and he loves her and the kids, I support that even if he doesn't have permission.

__________________
Chicago Bears!!!!
We are the Bears Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you.
We're so bad we know we're good.
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would.
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone.
We're not here to start no trouble.
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.

Polve, I understand what you are saying. I think government employees (at any level) may be a little different because they are "our" employees. If I own a business, I can decide if I feel like I'm getting my money's worth if my employee surfs the net here and there.

If the question is, "Your tax dollars pay the County Clerk's $52,000 annual pay and benefits package. Do you care if she plays on the internet during her work day while she's clocked in?"

I'd say that yes, I care. If there isn't enough work to fill the hours she works, then I guess we've given too much for that line item in the budget, and we should have her work fewer hours and pay her less.

There is, though, the legitimate argument that for the good of the citizens, the window needs to be open at a wide swath of convenient hours, regardless if she's always on task while there.

Personally... if there is work to be done, even if it might be work assigned to someone else, if someone is being paid to be somewhere, I'd prefer they contribute to the work effort if it's do-able. I realize that just because the maid is finished making up the hotel rooms doesn't mean that she is trained to clean the pool... so that won't always work.

I would be very, very surprised if ANY federal workers are "allowed" to surf the net on a government computer.

yes you would be surprised. and I see it happening all the time where I work. They ck their private emails and thats about it but yes we are all fed. employees where I work and yes it does happen. I dont think they "surf" the net but they do ck their emails.

__________________
·´`·.(*·.¸(`·.¸ ¸.·´)¸.·*).·´`·
«·´¨*·.¸¸. Jo ¸¸.·*¨`·»
«·´`·.(¸.·´(¸.·* *·.¸)`·.¸).·´`·»


Please leave feedback for me here.
http://www.mycoupons.com/boards/g-l/...-littlejo.html



gretchengirl@gmail.com

http://lifewithlittlejo.blogspot.com/

allowed may not have been the correct word to convey what I mean. I meant more along the lines of should they be doing this at work???

__________________
Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

How do you think I find the time to jump on to MyCoupons!???