According to research, one to two hours of employee time are spent on non work related tasks. These tasks include:

• Accessing to gambling and pornographic sites, eBay, YouTube, Facebook
• Playing internet browser games
• Instant messaging friends and co-workers
• Writing personal emails
• Online shopping

Work productivity is dropped. Company time is wasted on these non business tasks. Employers are using Internet monitoring software to reduce the lost of company time and resources. Employer will be able to know Internet usage of all employees down in details.

There can be two types of methods to set up workplace surveillance and monitor Internet usage at work, Internet surveillance and desktop surveillance.

Internet surveillance features active monitoring employee’s online activity using tools that include network analyzer or packet sniffer. These tools can grab all information passing over the network connections. Employers have the ability to know which website was visited, what email was sent and the content of these email, what files were downloaded and which picture was viewed.

Desktop surveillance involves monitoring an employee’s computer. The employee’s pc will have a monitoring software set up locally. Such software include keylogger software. Desktop monitoring software allows employers to see what an employee has been doing at work. For instance, any programs or files opened on employees’ pc can be viewed by employer. Desktop monitoring software are able to monitor a computer’s usage even if the computer is not online.

Is it Legal?

Under the regulations, employers have the legal rights to watch their own computer network and terminals using time tracking software. They are permitted to view messages, such as emails and instant messages, sent within the organization and also those that are sent from employee’s pc to another organization or from another company. Employees are given some protection under Union contracts, United States Constitution and State laws. Employers are not permitted to collect personal information such as bank account and credit card information.