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Porn is king at work, says Queen's
03-09-2004
by Deirdre McArdle

A lack of clear usage policies and a level of complacency by companies are factors that have helped to give employees the green light to access porn at work.

That's according to a new report from UK-based web and e-mail filtering firm SurfControl, which said that around 28 percent of employees admit to using their work e-mail to send sexually explicit e-mails to co-workers; the same percentage have downloaded adult content from the internet during work hours. The SurfControl-commissioned survey was carried out by Queen's University in Belfast, which questioned workers in the UK, US and Australia.

"We were surprised at the results," said Martino Corbelli, marketing director of SurfControl, speaking with ElectricNews.Net. "Considering that this problem has been ongoing now for a number of years we thought companies would be better equipped to deal with it. It is obvious that they are not facing up to the issue."

Corbelli readily admits that individuals are ultimately responsible for their own actions, but adds that unless companies have implemented a specific policy on accessing and forwarding adult content, they too should be held liable.

Establishing a clearly written communication for all staff indicating what is acceptable internet usage and what is not is a first step. Employees though, must be made aware by companies that any breach of the policy will be taken seriously. SurfControl also believes that employers need to educate their staff on basic internet usage. In addition, technology should be deployed as a "safety net" to supplement existing policies, according to Corbelli.

Recent events in the UK which saw the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) caution over 200 staff and dismiss 16 others for accessing pornography at work, have highlighted the "culture of acceptance" that exists in companies and demonstrates the need for stricter policies. In all, some 2 million web pages of adult content were downloaded by staff at DWP in the past year. Of the 2 million pages some 18,000 contained images of child pornography, according to Corbelli.

Companies in the US appear to be slightly ahead of their counterparts in the UK and Australia with regards internet usage policies; the survey showed that US employees are less likely to indulge in downloading porn at work.

"US businesses face increasing legal liabilities from inappropriate web use in the office," said Kevin Blakeman, president of SurfControl Americas' region. "No business can afford even one employee jeopardising the entire organisation through irresponsible and reckless internet activity."

The survey, conducted between May 17 and August 23, was mailed to randomly selected businesses in Australia, the UK and the US.