Working KnowledgeA Monthly Column about Life on the Job |
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By Elisa F. Topper American Libraries Columnist Elisa F. Topper is director of the Dundee Township (Ill.) Public Library District and a career consultant. Contact her at working@ala.org. Column for December 2005 |
Watching Workers' Web Use
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While employers do have the right to monitor employee use of electronic communication, they should also take into consideration how employees will react. As a colleague of mine always tells me, “Pick your battles carefully!”
I surveyed a number of librarians through the nexgenlib discussion list for their thoughts on the subject. Jason Griffey, reference/instruction librarian at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, points out that defining what is “personal use” can be tricky. Does it mean, for example, “any use that is not specific to library duties?” he asks. “If that were the case, I honestly do not believe that I would be able to do my job properly. . . . I would simply be missing too much of the information in the world. Part of my job as a librarian is to be familiar with the information sources used by my patrons, and that simply wouldn't be possible without open web access.“
Brian Gray, engineering librarian at Case Western University in Cleveland, says he formerly worked in a corporate setting, “where internet usage was monitored and some content totally filtered. You always had in the back of your head what might happen now that they recorded your actions. “I think that policies should be established to restrict some actions by employees (pornography, gambling, games, etc.) but in a way that will not restrict their ability to do their job efficiently. I do not feel that monitoring of computer usage is necessary if strong policies are established and the employees are getting their work done. Actual monitoring may have a role as a last resort for an employee that is abusing the rules or offending others.”
Establishing a policy
I strongly recommend that libraries establish a policy for employee internet use and electronic communication. In “Keep Your Employees' E-Mail from Landing Your Business in Court” (website), attorney Patricia S. Eyres advises employers to follow the 3 E's: 1) Enact polices, 2) Enforce them consistently, and 3) Educate employees and managers.
You need not draft a policy from scratch. There is an excellent template, “EFA Model Acceptable Use Policy for Employee Use of the Internet,” available from Electronic Frontiers Australia at this website. The document can be easily adapted for use in U.S. workplaces.
If your employees' personal computer use continues after you have established an official policy, begin to document any inappropriate behavior, keeping in mind that browsing through internet sites to be informed is different from chatting, nonprofessional electronic mailing lists, or computer games. As a supervisor, be in tune with what the workload should be while on the desk. It could be that boredom has set in and your employees may simply need projects to do during nonbusy times. Have all staffers develop projects that would be relevant to their subject areas. Monitor them over an acceptable time period to see if behavior improves, and if not, begin to take action to replace any problem employees.
FAREWELL NOTE
It has been a dream come true to have written this column for the past three years. I now move on to pursue another dream—that of writing a book for ALA Editions. Best of luck to my successor who will continue this column and to all of you in your careers!
(c) Copyright 2005 American Library Association