Doubt that affects much of the entrepreneurs, managers and IT professionals is whether or not to block access to social networks during employees' working hours.
There are advantages and disadvantages in the control of internet access during the work period in companies. Here are some pros and cons, which may even help you decide what the internet use policy will be in your business. Finally, we point out some measures that can be adopted for employees and managers to be satisfied and their team and the company remain productive.
Advantages of blocking access to social networks in companies
There are several advantages of controlling internet access in the business environment, especially when the main blocks are social networks, as you can see in the next lines.
More focus on work
By blocking access to networks like Facebook , Instagram and WhatsApp , there will be a considerable increase in employees' focus on activities that are really important to the company. The waste of time and attention generated from access to social networks is a reality and needs to be closely monitored by managers and professionals responsible.
Increased productivity and task quality
Of course, with greater focus on the company's activities, employees and teams will increase productivity. Without access to social networks they have more time dedicated to companies' tasks, greater attention and more concentration at work. These points can also contribute to higher quality in tasks and results, as interruptions or distractions do not occur during the execution of the activities.
Better Internet Performance
In addition to attracting people's attention, social networks also consume much of the internet resources. At this point we can highlight Youtube, Instagram and Tiktok, as video loading consumes precious features of the network.
In fact, all social networks consume network resources, with a lot of content, images, videos and constant updates in real time.
One of the main factors in performance is that when there is slowness in the company's network, it can compromise the operation of programs and services used by the company.
With access block, it is possible to ensure the better functioning of the systems.
Less safety risks
Social networks are also full of malicious links that can lead the user to involuntarily install viruses, spyware and malware on the company's equipment and computer network, which can cause slowness, equipment malfunction or data leakage. With computers exposed to viruses, there can also be the loss of important files from the company that has not been backing up.
Team cost reduction
With the most focused and productive employees, naturally your team will deliver tasks faster and more quality. Therefore, it is possible to increase the amount of tasks performed by the team or even the reduction of the team.
To size the costs of access to social networks, we can make a simple calculation: considering a time spent 20% of work on social networks, in a team of 10 people with an average salary of R $ 1,000.00, the monthly cost reaches R $ 2,000.00, amount corresponding to 2 employees.
Make a simulation of the cost of wasted time on your team with misuse of the internet.
Disadvantages of access to social networks at work
Humberto Ferreira Neto said: "Not everything in life are flowers." There are also negative points for locking social networks at work that should be observed carefully, and that is exactly what we will see in the coming lines.
Less creativity
Social networks can also help. In the case of creativity employees, the use of networks can assist in creation, as well as those who need to be informed about the latest events.
Agility in the search for information
Through social networks it is also possible to perform certain search faster than in conventional search engines, after all, one of the fastest media for information and news is social networks, thus facilitating access and flow of information.
Increased costs with communication
The use of communication applications such as WhatsApp, Skype and Messenger, for example, can reduce operating costs, such as long -range calls, as you can contact people anywhere without the need to use the phone, for example.
What to do?
Regardless of choice, the most important thing is to maintain a clear internet use policy and the awareness of employees in relation to what can be accessed in the workplace.
It is necessary to understand that to define the internet access policy it is important to consider the profile of your company and your employees. It is not recommended to define extreme rules, such as maintaining all blocked access.
The best option is to release or block access partially , and may be at times or by type of websites and content. For example, release social networks at the beginning and end of each work shift for 15 minutes, making the work environment healthier.
For most companies, partial control has been the solution. It is possible to implement this control in various ways:
- Block only the use of websites that use many features from the network, such as Youtube;
- Release access at certain times, such as at the beginning and end of the hours or at intervals;
- Block access individually or by user groups.
In the latter, you can release use to sectors that really need these accesses, and block for those who do not need access to networks due to the nature of their activities.
If there is doubts about what is the best policy for your company, a good alternative is to seek references from companies that manage internet access to know what the rules are used and the results obtained. It is also recommended to seek to know the alternatives and services of internet access control , knowing the characteristics of each solution, evaluating if the needs of your company satisfactorily meet.
We hope the text can assist in the decision to block access to social networks in your company. If you have already implemented access management, share your experience in the comments.
