Companies turn on employees that view porn
It is more likely that employees will get sacked for looking at internet porn than any other security breach, according to a recent study.
The study – carried out for magazine Personnel Today and management consultants Websense – interviewed 544 human resources managers and officers from companies employing an average of 2500 people.
Results showed that a quarter of companies have dismissed employees for misuse of the internet. Of these nearly 70% have been because they have been viewing porn.
Figures show 72% of firms have dealt with the issue of internet misuse, with web chat rooms and personal emailing second and third respectively in the list of most frequent complaints.
But often it is not the employers who initiate the discipline proceedings, but colleagues. More than 40% of complaints came from co-workers upset at their fellow employees’ internet habits.Researchers found 56% of managers prefer to deal with these complaints by having a ‘quiet word’ with workers, while 29% issued verbal warnings.