Access to social networks and messaging apps at work is a dilemma present in the daily life of many managers and IT professionals in companies. Some say that blocking access to these sites decrease the welfare of employees, and also, some believe that releasing access hinders productivity.
The truth is that it is a difficult question to answer accurately, after all, there are several profiles of employees in companies and also areas where any distraction can cause major problems for the company.
Throughout this article, you will see the benefits of blocking and release sites such as Facebook , Instagram , WhatsApp and Telegram , widely used during working hours in companies, as well as an efficient way to manage internet access to the corporate environment.
Social networks and messaging apps
Access to social networks is the factor that most contributes to the waste of time at work. In Brazil 96% of internet users use message apps daily and 97% use social networks daily, according to the We Are Social 2020 .
Not to mention entertainment apps, games, shopping, music and dating, which count smaller percentages, but take users and attention from users daily.
Another alarming data is that according to the survey , internet users spend on average 9h17min daily connected to their smartphones. This represents a large part of his day, and for sure, a large portion of working hours.
Therefore, believing that the internet in the corporate environment brings only benefits is a great mistake.
Release access to social networks and messaging apps?
It is inevitable that some employees will make access to social networks and messaging apps during working hours. Therefore, it is up to the manager to decide whether access to this type of content will be released or not. However, it is important to know your team and understand how this use can influence productivity.
Companies can adopt liberal or more conservative policies, but they should always consider the maturity of the team. With a mature, productive team and commitment to the company's results, it is possible to adopt a more flexible posture, releasing access without total restrictions or specific hours.
In a contrary scenario, the release of access to social networks and messaging apps to teams without maturity will make them further lose focus on company activities and compromise the results.
In this sense, we can conclude that the manager should seek balanced solutions and develop methods to motivate the team, implementing for example an internet access policy according to the team profile, blocking specific access to avoid waste of time and low productivity.
Is blocking internet access important?
In addition to productivity and focus of the team, unlimited access to social networks and messaging applications are a risk of digital security, after all, make room for viruses, ransomware, phishing, among other problems related to internet security.
In situations like this, it is important to implement a system for the management and control of internet access , preventing access to sites considered harmful (present in various social networks) from being accessed in the company's network.
But blocking everything to all teams can be a "foot shot." It is essential to analyze the particularities of your team and define access groups, implementing distinct access rules for each group, according to the profile of employees, activities performed or specific sectors.
The sales industry for example can use social networks to prospect customer. The HR sector can seek information about professionals at LinkedIn and Facebook.
Another important point is to gather information about the use of the Internet observed reports of what is being accessed and optimize the company's internet access policy.
Note that release and blockage are not necessarily distinct and polarized policies. A balance between the possibility of access to social networks and messaging applications as well as blocking in some periods can be done aiming at the well -being of the team and also the productivity and results of the company.
How to control the company's internet access?
There are numerous tools for control of internet access to companies, offered in the market today. Some more robust and complex, requiring more technical knowledge, some specific to some features with foreign currency payment, and also some aimed at small and medium enterprises, with friendly and intuitive interface, with local currency payment (R $), as is the case with Lumiun Box .
Seeking to facilitate the complete internet management process of companies, we developed the internet access control guide to companies . The material gathers a variety of information and characteristics about the task, as well as a step by step to implement an efficient access policy consistent with the company's needs.
The material is free, you can download whenever you want and also share with colleagues and friends.
If you are implementing access rules in your business, make an experience: pay attention to the behavior of employees on the internet, compare results and see how internet access management can help in the company's growth.
Until later!
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