Monday, 24 November 2008

  • Internet Usage at Work -Are You a Thief?

    violet by mrs violet 

    Are You a Thief?

    I have sat in churches where preachers preached about it.

    I have heard conversations between friends where there is debate about it.

    Employers write memos about it.

    But what does it mean for the Christian?

    I am talking about internet usage at work, where is the line for you? 

    When do you feel you are exploiting or stealing from your boss?

    My husband and I have spoken about this over the years, because often his employers have had pretty strict guidelines about it, coupled with his own personal sense of ethics on the subject.  While he has no problem logging on to internet banking to pay a bill (if he has given up his lunch time to work in the office), he personally would never dream of being on Facebook at work.

    I am not saying he is right, and as a non-believer he isn't doing it out of any spiritual conviction, it is just his own sense of right and wrong that influences his decisions.

    I would be interested in how others work through this issue.  How much is too much at work?  Where are your own personal boundaries, and when does it cross the border of stealing from you boss (in terms of being paid to surf the net).

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Comments (27)

  • MrCheetah@xanga

    Mmm... never thought about it as "stealing." More like "slacking off." How can you steal something that's given to you...
  • OH_itsThatBoy@xanga

    @MrCheetah@xanga - it's stealing time from not giving the time you're being paid to work.

    i say blue collar's all the way. physical labor > paper work. at least the white collar wow players i knew didn't log on during work.

  • grace_is_amazing

    I can see how it is stealing.  He is paying you in return for work.  If you don't work, it would follow that he doesn't owe you the money.  Therefore taking it anyway is, in effect, stealing it.  It is taking it under false pretenses.

    At my job, they "discourage" using the internet for non-work purposes.  If there is work to be done, people do their work and don't slack off.  However, my job includes some periods of downtime where one can catch up all of their work and then has nothing to do but wait until a certain time to do more work.  During those times, people often surf the internet....but never logged in under their own names to avoid trouble.  I don't feel convicted about this because it isn't as though they are choosing to surf the internet INSTEAD of work.  The work is done.  If not surfing the internet, they would be sitting and staring at each other doing nothing anyway.  It's basically like they are on a lunch break....only without going anywhere because our staff rarely leaves for meals or breaks.  You just take them when you can get them, and "slack off" for a few minutes :)
  • awholenewbeginning@xanga

    I work at an icecream/chocolate store .. so I don't have a desk job or anything, however we do have a computer and it gets so terribly slow during the fall/winter seasons. So many kids at my work go on the computer all the time, however I sort of shy away from it. I might go on for 5 minutes if I NEED to contact someone about something, and I can't reach them any other way, but it peeves me when my friends (who also are my co-workers) are looking at bumper stickers on facebook for an hour while I'm helping customers and making different things.

    My manager (well used to be) just got fired for sitting on the computer for hours during the day, instead of working. He was around 30 and he got paid WAY more and probably did way less than what I (16 years old) do. I just think its ridiculous really. There's always more to be done. And in a day and age where technology keep increasing, I do think there should be more boundaries. It bothers me that my friends get paid 8 bucks to be on facebook while I'm getting 8 bucks to work, simply because I have a better work-ethic.

  • Kevin_is_a_pirate@xanga

    He's most likely not being paid as much as he deserves I say go ahead and slack off abit.
  • xcntrychicka@xanga

    I use the internet at work for non-work things. I work at a newspaper, and sometimes, there is literally nothing for the graphic artists to do. Revenue changes from week to week, which means that sometimes we have lots of ads, but sometimes now. I'm only on when I'm not busy though. Never when the boxes are full.
  • Soul_Pizza@xanga

    It depends completely and totally on the job.  At my work, for instance, there are times when there is literally nothing to do except answer phones...  So, even if I just sat there and stared into blank space, technically you could consider it as "stealing from my boss" since I'm not "working."  So, yes, I do get on Facebook and stumble random sites between phone calls at work, and I don't see a problem with it.
  • Soul_Pizza@xanga

    @xcntrychicka@xanga - lol, we both pretty much said the same thing at the same time...  NIce!
  • Stephanie_J_B@xanga

    I don't have a desk job, so I can't really say what I would consider stealing. I suppose I would say I think it's unfair when people would be playing on the computer when they are supposed to be working, while I would be really working....
  • too_pretty_to_die@xanga

    my work requires the internet.  if i have nothing else to do, why not?

    if the boss doesn't want to pay you while you browse the internet, there are plenty of ways he can fix that... block certain websites, for starters. 

  • stalkdebbie@xanga

    i only browse during my break time and i don't think it's called stealing. It's one of my stress busters
  • shards_of_beauty@xanga

    I feel that unless you are using break time or have been given specific permission, it is stealing.  I sometimes use the internet at work when and only when I have finished everything I can find to do, have notified my boss that I am done and waiting for another task, AND have checked with the shipping manager to see if he has anything extra laying around for an unoccupied secretary to do.  At that point, I have my boss's request to get out of everyone's way and just chill.  :)
  • thebittersweetromance@xanga

    I think that if you have completed all your tasks at work and cannot find anything else to do then theres nothing wrong with using the internet if its ok with your employer.  A lot of times I have to wait and listen as part of my job so using the internet keeps me from zoning out.
  • Myteggya@xanga

    I worked at this one place where my employer sort of encouraged internet usage during free time at work.  They made announcements  like "After you guys watch videos on Youtube, be sure to return volume levels to the default settings for class appointments." Anyway, that was a weird exception to the rule, I never go to fun, slacking-off websites when I'm working somewhere unless the boss says it's okay.  
  • gabrielpeter@xanga

    I'm reading this at work!  But I'm on my break *hehe*.
  • IMChurchmouse@xanga

    I guess I never saw a problem with it as long as I got my work done, but I did see one day that I was not looking for more work when I began internet habits.

    So, now, I am only on the internet when the job says I should be.  And I avoid personal email or any social sites unless it's lunchtime.  Bill paying and other personal things are fine to do in the same way - only before work, after work, or during lunch time.

    Even if its slow, there are always things that could use being organized or filing to be done when you look for it.
  • Megeletto@xanga

    It's called "time theft", well at least according to The Office.

    I have 2 part-time jobs, one at my church and one at the front desk of a Best Western.  I would never dream of surfing the internet at church (not only would you be stealing from the church, but you would be stealing from God by taking his tithes), but when I work at the hotel I'm allowed to surf the internet during slow times. 

    Obviously it would depend on what kind of work you do, how your boss feels about it, and if you're surfing the internet INSTEAD of working.
  • LeTsGoGeTeM@xanga

    I go on the internet all the time at work. I shop on-line, check my e-mail, read my blogs, etc....I don't think of it as stealing either because I still get my job done. Besides that I spend like 80%-90% of my week at work anyway...I feel like I am there 24/7 so why not?
  • y_tc@xanga

    I think your husband is right and I would pretty much do/felt the same way as him.

  • mo_chic_for_jesus@xanga

    If I'm doing that instead of doing my work, then yes it's wrong.  However, if there is really nothing else to do, then I think it's fine.  I used to work as a night auditor at a hotel (basically 3rd shift desk clerk and paperwork-doer).  I had about 2-3 hours of work, max, during an 8-hr shift, plus answer the occasional phone call and check in the odd guest. 


    I always got all my work done, and surfed the net when I was bored.
  • polarpaul@xanga

    This doesn't seem that difficult to figure out. If you're using the internet at work for non-work related use during the time you're supposed to be working, it's stealing. If your employer allows you to use the internet for non-work use during breaks or lunch it's okay.

    If your employer allows you to use the internet during slow times, it's okay, if they don't-- it's once again stealing.
  • Phoenix_Fire86@xanga

    That's almost like asking at what point when while watching PBS Television does it feel like you're stealing since you don't donate...

    almost

    well actually i just wanted to throw that analogy out there for no reason at all lol
  • mrsvioletabo

    @Phoenix_Fire86@xanga - I don't even know what PBS is lol.

    @polarpaul@xanga - agreed.

    @LeTsGoGeTeM@xanga - @mo_chic_for_jesus@xanga -
    @xcntrychicka@xanga - @Myteggya@xanga - 
    @stalkdebbie@xanga - @thebittersweetromance@xanga -

    Just throwing the question out there.  At the end of the day if your employer doesn't mind, then there is no issue.

    @y_tc@xanga - He often works for big companies with 1000's of people so I guess if everybody did it, the effects would be enormous on tasks and useage.

    @gabrielpeter@xanga - lol .

    @Kevin_is_a_pirate@xanga - well he certainly isn't being payed enough, but do two wrongs make a right

  • mrsvioletabo

    @Megeletto@xanga - Ahhh time theft..... great description!
  • IMChurchmouse@xanga

    @polarpaul@xanga - I agree with what you said.  If the boss says internet surfing on company time is ok, and you have done all the work you were supposed to do to the best of your ability, then it would be ok.  But only in that situation.

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