How to deal with Internet misuse in the workplace

Accessing the internet daily has become a reality for most Brazilians and the digital universe is increasingly important in people's daily lives.

Regardless of social class, age or style, users connect and use the internet in different ways, for personal or professional purposes.

However, there is still a lot of doubt when it comes to using the internet in the professional environment , during the workday. On the one hand, there is the disciplinary, directive and regulatory power of the employer. On the other, employee privacy.

Do you know which one should prevail? And when can using the internet at work lead to dismissal?

See some important points to consider when it comes to using the Internet at work in the following lines.

Common sense

Firstly, every employee who uses the internet in the workplace must have common sense to know that during working hours they should not carry out personal activities.

However, if the employee needs to check some type of email or social network , it is important to have a balance.

Another, perhaps greater, precaution is with the use of cell phones, as improper use in the company can lead to dismissal for just cause .

If the employee makes good use of the internet for work, there is no problem. However, the employee may be using personal email services, instant communicators, accessing social networks and websites with inappropriate content, at the same time as carrying out, or should be carrying out, activities related to their work.

This is when common sense must prevail.

The ideal is to jointly define limits for employees' use of the Internet or even a specific time. This way, it is clear to the employee what, when and how they can use the Internet for personal purposes and the employer maintains the right to monitor and penalize if the limits are exceeded.

It is also extremely important that these rules for using the internet are made very clear to employees, as this will avoid misunderstandings or misinformation, which is especially important in companies with a large number of employees using the internet.

Access control

If the company deems it necessary, it has the right to control , monitor, restrict or prohibit access to the Internet for private purposes. However, employees must first be formally informed.

The ideal is to add in the internal regulations and in the individual employment contract that the use of the internet for personal matters during working hours is controlled and monitored by the company.

This control can be implemented through a document with guidance and training for employees, or through the use of internet management services that control internet access in the workplace.

Access rules can be defined according to the employer's needs, and only access to malicious websites or inappropriate content and social networks can be blocked, for example.

A good software option for controlling Internet access in companies is Lumiun. With Lumiun it is possible to create flexible access rules and monitor usage through reports and graphs.

See more information about the solution in the Internet Access Control Guide for Businesses .

The solution works differently than usual on the market, as the main objective is to be a solution that is easy to implement and manage. It is known that currently one of the biggest problems for companies is low productivity and lack of security and it is in this segment that Lumiun operates, simplified to small and medium-sized companies.

Privacy

If the company chooses to allow its employees to use the internet for personal purposes unrelated to work, it does not have the right to monitor the contents of e-mails or other personal messages. In this case, the employee's privacy must be respected.

On the other hand, if internet access is permitted only for work activities, the company can monitor messages from company-provided email accounts and instant communication programs.

It can even control access to websites and services accessed on the Internet, as long as the employee is aware and informed in advance, as already mentioned.

Furthermore, companies have the right to take care of their image or brand on the internet, in addition to having responsibility for the attitudes of their employees in certain situations, as this is stated in article 5, Section X , of the Federal Constitution.

Penalties

If the rules and guidelines for Internet access are disrespected by the employee, the company can apply disciplinary penalties and warnings, up to and including dismissal for just cause , as long as everything is established in the contract and it is possible to prove the employee's disrespect for the rules established for Internet use.

In the end, the most important points are balance and common sense on the part of the company and the employee. The employer must find the appropriate time to penalize employees and at the same time respect their privacy.

Otherwise, the company may also be liable for damages caused by a possible invasion.

The employee must be aware of not using the corporate environment and working time to deal with private matters. It is of great importance that employees know how to exercise prudence when using the internet.

Finally, it is also worth highlighting that it would be convenient for the company, before starting to monitor e-mails and internet access, to implement a regiment for the use of these work instruments, predicting and making it clear to its employees when and when how they should use such instruments, so that it is clear that emails and access will be monitored.

I hope I helped you with any questions you may have about improper internet access in the workplace.

If you have any suggestions on the topic, write them below in the comments.

To the next!