Currently, the internet is fundamental and is part of the business and activities of the vast majority of companies. In this context, a large portion of employees perform their daily activities on computers and connected to the internet. This can make teams productive, but at the same time, it can lead to a waste of time and resources due to the large number of attractions that the internet offers, such as social networks, entertainment websites, games, personal email, instant messaging, and many others.
Research shows that professionals spend an average of 30% of their time on non-work-related activities, spending up to 2 hours a day online doing personal tasks. This scenario highlights the need to establish internet usage policies and implement browsing controls and rules to ensure focus on work and avoid distractions and wasted time for employees.
In companies lacking internet usage policies and controls, the cost of network misuse can be high. This misuse can lead to wasted employee time, unfocused and low-quality task execution, security problems such as data loss and computer virus infections, idle equipment requiring constant maintenance, slow internet speeds, and poor equipment performance, among other issues. Let's examine the costs associated with wasted time in more detail:
Waste of time and distraction for employees.
We know that it's common for professionals to access social media and personal email at work, and these activities can even be healthy if done with common sense and responsibility, but unfortunately this is not the case in most situations.
In companies with no restrictions on internet use, it's possible for employees to spend hours online engaging in activities unrelated to work. Another contributing factor to this wasted time is the use of cell phones for calls and conversations; in addition, distractions can occur from chatting with colleagues, having snacks, and many other situations, including natural distractions for rest and relaxation.
Measuring the true cost of wasted employee time can be complex, but it's important to estimate this in terms of costs to understand the financial impact this waste has on the company. For example, let's consider a company with 20 employees where 15% of working time is wasted on the internet, or 72 minutes per day:
- Number of employees: 20
- Hours worked per day: 8
- Average monthly cost per employee: R$ 2,000.00
- Days worked per month: 20
- Total cost including staff: R$ 40,000.00
- Average hourly cost of an employee: R$ 12.50
- Daily waste per employee: R$ 15.00
- Monthly waste per employee: R$ 300.00
- Total wasted work hours: 480
- Monthly waste due to misuse of the internet: R$ 6,000.00
The result of this calculation often surprises managers, but the calculation shows that in the scenario we used, wasted time represents a monthly cost of R$ 6,000.00. However, we can still consider the 15% rate conservative, considering research data showing that this rate can reach an average of 30% in companies. Furthermore, the analysis only considers the volume of unproductive hours, without taking into account the possibility of tasks delivered with poor quality by the team, which can compromise relationships with clients and the market.
To calculate how much the misuse of the internet can cost your company, use this business time wastage calculator .
Other factors that should also be analyzed as stemming from the misuse of the internet are security problems, such as the installation of viruses on equipment, which generate maintenance costs and lead to idle resources.
Based on this cost analysis, it is possible to conclude that the misuse of the internet can be extremely detrimental to companies and that it is essential for managers to implement policies for the use of the network and technology resources. This is especially important considering that in today's competitive landscape, efficient team management can become a key differentiator in the market and against competitors.
To implement a browsing control policy, the first step is to guide employees through a manual of ethics and proper internet use . It's also important to use services that allow blocking access to unwanted websites; see this article for what should be considered when defining internet access rules in your company. These access rules should be developed according to the activity profile of employees and the company, where the recommendation is to use common sense, allowing for times when access to social networks and personal email, for example, is permitted and restricted at other times.
Share with us your experiences regarding network misuse in your company, what policies were used in the companies where you worked, and what results were obtained.
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