Porn at Work: Employers Face Major Problems

A recent USA Today article states that the number of employees who are surfing the Internet for pornography during work hours has increased dramatically in the past ten years. The reason for this, at least according to many experts, can be directly attributed to easier access to wireless technology. Portable devices (even those company owned laptops and PDAs) are small and mobile enough to lull porn enthusiastic employees into a false sense of security. The result? Greater liability for employers, and an increase in employee terminations for improper behavior.

For some, the risk of getting caught is arousing in and of itself. They falsely convince themselves that no one will know what they are looking at… and in the process, open themselves up to potential disciplinary action. And with more and more major companies providing their employees with laptops and home computers, telecommuters seem to be at an even greater risk for falling into the porn at work trap. It’s easy to forget, while in the comfort of your home office, that you are still on company time; and that you are being monitored as such.

For employers, the implications are much wider reaching than just the loss of productivity suffered while employees seek carnal pleasures on the company laptop. Workplace conflicts and a series of lawsuits have cropped up over the past few years, as some people feel harassed by their coworkers’ naughty web browsing.

As a result, many companies are turning to web filtering systems once designed solely for use as parental controls. The most successful of these systems include programs like My Internet Doorman, which let employers set up filtering systems that are as broad (or specific) as needed. An added bonus? They also keep employees away from gambling sites, which are another thorn in the side of the American corporate system.

The simple truth is that porn isn’t going anywhere. In fact, there are more pornography websites today than at any other point in Internet history. And as workplace technology gets more discreet, the need for a fully managed Internet filtering system within company walls will only grow right along side the problem.