Whilst searching for a sofa for sale during your lunch-break is innocuous enough, employers need to be aware when employee Googling could signal trouble and potential liability. Yes, it’s important companies respect the privacy of employees. No, it’s not okay if searches involve certain keywords and subjects.

Aside from a moral standpoint, a laissez-faire attitude could prove damaging to your company – financially, operationally and reputation-wise (especially if the details hit the media…)

Adult-Related Content

Although we’ve covered porn in the workplace before, it’s an issue well worth revisiting. Although not necessarily obvious, it’s far more rampant than people tend to believe. A recent survey revealed that 70% of the traffic to one of the web’s leading porn site was during business hours!

Whatever your personal viewpoint on sexually explicit websites, it should be obvious they have no place in the workplace, and for good reason:

Loss of productivity

It’s a safe bet any employee browsing adult materials, isn’t being very productive…

Malware

Porn sites are notorious for being riddled with malware. One researcher found that among some of world’s most highly trafficked free pornography sites, the probability of coming into contact with malware can exceed 50 percent!

Impact on other employees

There is a raft of litigation when it comes to worker rights which employers need to be aware of. A computer screen left on which displays inappropriate content could highly offend colleagues and potentially spark off complaints and investigations; spiraling into potential legal disputes and compensation claims.

What to do?

Employees who’re accessing porn or adult content during work hours are an issue for the HR team’s care. Disciplinary action should be considered.

Sports Content

By now employers have come to expect employees spending a few minutes catching-up on the latest news headlines during the working day. As long as it’s under control there’s really not much point in making an issue of it.

The problems start when the usage goes above and beyond the norm, a pattern which tend to surface with sorts fans…

Whilst there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the world of sport, sports sites are less than productive for a few reasons.

Following live events

Rather than simply checking for a quick update, people develop a single-track mind and switch off from work, until the end of the game at least.

Slowing systems by downloading or streaming video

Sports fans like to see live events as well as action replays. However all this video is sure to slow down web access for everyone due to bandwidth-greedy streaming.

What to do?

Solutions may involve individual disciplinary procedures, limiting access to certain sites fully or during certain times in the day. This can be checked with an adequate employee monitoring system. At the same time, when it comes to major sporting events, such as the Super Bowl, you may decide to reschedule the working day so that your employees can enjoy the game rather than pretending to work.

Suicide Content

Employees come to work to do a job and expect their privacy to be protected and respected. However, the mental health of employees and workplace safety is also your domain. Your employees may vary in terms of age, race and background, as well as be interacting in a confined space, in a sometimes stressful environment. Danger signs which could signal trouble cannot be ignored. Employee monitoring offers a valuable insight into the minds of your employees without infringing their rights. Google searches involving suicide, and death in general, can impact the workplace in several ways:

Workplace violence

Mental illness, anxiety and suicidal thoughts can increase the risk of personal danger at work. In 2013, 380 people were killed as a result of workplace violence in the US.

Duty of care

Employers have a duty of care towards their employees. Being notified that an employee is spending an inordinate amount of time looking at suicide-related websites through Google searches could allow you to intervene and support the mental welfare of a vulnerable individual.

Negative impact on colleagues

A preoccupation with suicide and death is a portend of a depressed individual. It’s a safe bet this person’s low morale isn’t only affecting their own productivity, but rather their depressions is impacting those surrounding them as well.

Depression and evidence of self-harm, or aggressive and hostile behavior create a feel-bad working environment; a situation which is bad for morale, productivity and team spirit, and ultimately has very real impact on your bottom line.

Employee monitoring software such as KnowIT created by Digital Endpoint can help keep track of Google searches. For more information, visit www.digitalendpoint.com.