How to Prevent Workplace Porn Problems
Do you need to lock down your entire network to prevent porn at work?
Pornography in the workplace is a problem in more ways than you might imagine. Here are two examples:
- In a case that got a lot of publicity, a high-ranking official at the Environmental Protection Agency downloaded more than 7,000 porn files and spent as much as six hours of his work day viewing them.
- A hospital technician is suing a former co-worker and the hospital charging that the co-worker repeatedly indulged in smartphone porn while he was supposed to be watching equipment during open-heart surgeries.
According to a Nielsen study, 25 percent of working adults surf pornographic websites from work computers. To back that up, it turns out that 70 percent of all online porn viewing happens between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Further, all these statistics make it obvious that employers who don’t take measures to prevent workplace porn viewing are skating dangerously close to sexual harassment lawsuits.
Put it in writing
Employee handbooks should establish a strict “no porn” policy. Further, they must point out that viewing porn, sending porn, using company equipment to store porn are all prohibited and can be considered sexual harassment. Also, be sure to let employees know that their jobs are safe if they see others viewing porn and report it to management.
Often, implementing an anonymous reporting hotline for employees is a smart idea. For example, what does an employee do if he or she sees the department manager viewing pornography while at work? The fear of retaliation can prevent reporting and cause an even bigger problem in the long run.
You should also let employees know that you may monitor the websites they visit while on company equipment. If you suspect an employee, check where he’s been. Without a dedicated IT department, this may be beyond the ability of some smaller firms.
Consider filtering
In some cases, Internet filtering may be warranted. These can be used to restrict company computers strictly to work related sites. However, some business owners that have used them question their effectiveness. Also, with so many employees using their own devices at work, filters on your Internet connection may not block all the connections to porn sites.
As with all important issues in your company, the keys are to
- Establish a policy,
- Train employees on the policy,
- Enforce the policy, and
- Revisit the policy on a regular basis.
This heightens awareness and lets you, as a small business owner, set the “tone from the top.” It makes it much less likely that workplace porn will be a significant problem in your organization.
