Bahambug: 50% of Companies Fire Employees for Internet and Email Abuse

According to a study published by InfoWorld and conducted by the American Management Association (AMA) and The ePolicy Institute, more than 50% of companies have fired employees for abusing email and the Internet. The stats are alarming but not surprising.

Internet Misuse
84% have been fired for accessing porn and other inappropriate sites

34% have been fired for excessive personal use of the Internet

Email Misuse
64% have been fired for violating company email policy

62% have been fired for sending emails with offensive language

25% have been fired for excessive personal use of email

22% have been fired for violating confidentiality rules in email

How are companies monitoring email and internet use?
66% monitor Internet connections

65% use software to block inappropriate Web sites

18% block URLs to prevent access to external blogs

Methods for Monitoring
45% track content, keystrokes, and time spent at the keyboard

43% store and review computer files

12% monitor activity on blogs (if they allow access)

10% monitor social-networking sites (if they allow access)

Companies keep track of their employees behavior due to Legal Fears
24% of companies have had their emails subpoenaed

15% of companies have been sued based on employees misuse of email

I know its frustrating to have your online activity monitored so closely, but we all have to admit that companies not only have the right but they also have good cause to do so. Beyond legal liabilities, companies face security risks for allowing unrestricted access to external messaging and content sites. In addition, many companies are subject to strict document retention regulations and can be heavily fined for not storing all electronic communications and content. So if you are going to access personal messages or surf the Web while at work, please do so smartly.