Managers and IT professionals in Brazil are looking for ways to block websites on company computers and devices. It's no wonder, after all, according to research , it takes a Brazilian worker 1 hour to do what a North American worker does in 15 minutes.
The low quality of life, poor mobility, low education and some other factors help to explain this Brazilian reality.
However, in offices with computers connected to the internet, the determining factor for low productivity may be different: dispersion on entertainment sites, social networks, videos, games or instant messaging applications.
In this article, I will highlight which categories of websites and a small list of some that should be blocked in the company to increase productivity in the workplace.
Why know which sites to block?
In a study carried out this year, it was identified that Brazilians spend an average of 3 hours and 31 minutes per day on social media. Reinforcing: Only on social media! Not to mention other messaging, gaming, music, video and other daily use apps.
Taking into account all the websites and applications that can be accessed daily, internet usage time at work can seriously compromise employee productivity and focus.
Therefore, blocking websites according to the company's needs and sector is very important. Always taking into account the possibility of using a website for professional purposes, such as communication companies, for example, which need social networks to work and obtain information on a daily basis.
Which categories of websites can be blocked in the company and why?
Several categories of websites can be blocked in companies seeking to increase employee productivity. However, as we saw previously, it is important to take into consideration whether this category is not used as a work tool by the employee or by the sector in question.
Below, you will see the categories most blocked by companies and the main reasons for blocking them.
1. Social networks
As we saw in the research at the beginning of the article, social networks are perhaps one of the biggest causes of wasted time in the workplace. They cause distractions and dispersion for long periods due to the habit of checking updates, which was worsened by social isolation.
Furthermore, there are several cyber attacks that use social networks as a vehicle for propagation, such as Malvertising , the attack on advertisements.
According to a survey last year, the most accessed social networks in the world are:
- Snapchat
These may be the social networks that should be on your company's access block list.
2. Games and bets
Unlike the past decade, today games are very common and easily accessible, without the need for physical media purchases, many of them being free and online, with daily competitions and attractions in an attempt to keep players online all the time.
According to the Game Brasil 2020 survey , 73.4% of Brazilians play electronic games and as you can already imagine, gaming and betting sites consume a lot of employees' attention during working hours, especially if they have unlimited access to the internet network. of the company and also in some cases, your personal cell phone.
There are several gaming sites on the internet, including pages with titles such as: “ LONG LIVE PROCRASTINATION! ONLINE GAME TO PLAY AT WORK ”, “ Kill Time at the Office ” and “ 9 games to procrastinate (and pretend to be working) ”.
The options are diverse, but blocking only specific websites may make this task a bit arduous and time-consuming. The ideal would be to use tools to block entire categories, defining that no website that falls into this category can be allowed access during working hours. We will talk more about this later.
3. Pornography
It seems unimaginable, but this type of material is also consumed in the workplace. I believe that there is no need to explain much why block access to this type of content in the company when the factor is employee productivity.
Speaking of company data security, this type of content can contain many dangers and deserves some of your reading time.
Adult content sites are loaded with malware, pop-ups with harmful content and malicious links.
Without any type of blocking of this content, the company's confidential and sensitive data may be at the mercy of various cyber attacks.
Here it is also worth highlighting the existence of thousands of websites with this content. The sites listed here are unlikely to be the only access options for employees at work. Therefore, category blocking tools can serve you very well in this case.
In Brazil, the best known are:
- Pornhub.com
- Sexy Hot
- Xvideos.com
- Cameraprive.com
- Loupan Productions
- Pov Brazil
- Brazilian Porn TV
- Camera Hot
- Brasileirinhas
- Xnudes
4. Video and music
Sites for consuming films, series, videos and music are among the most visited worldwide. It would be no surprise that they are responsible for taking the attention of professionals in companies and causing productivity losses.
Sites in this category are among those that must be blocked in many organizations.
Below, I've listed the main video and music channels on the internet today.
- YouTube
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime Video
- HBO go
- Spotify
- Youtube Music
- Deezer
5. Specific sites
It is natural for there to be specific sites for the company's local custom or public. Blocking these sites can help improve team productivity if identified as causing employees' lack of focus during work hours.
Among the most common are usually local, city, or regional news sites and also betting and city events sites, where information may be relevant to employees, but have no connection with their daily tasks in the company.
How to block websites easily, effectively and safely?
Configuring browsers, editing hosts, using extensions are useful ways to block websites in the company. However, like almost everything in the life of a manager or IT professional within the company, it is not “that simple”. These forms of blocking are not practical to apply in an office with multiple devices and are easy to bypass.
But don't worry, there is an easier and faster way to control internet access, blocking entire categories of websites and managing connections on the company's network more securely.
As a way of bringing valuable and useful information to managers and IT professionals concerned about wasting time in companies, we provide a specific website on the topic that answers almost all questions: www.comobloquearsite.com .
Additionally, you can see a step-by-step guide to the management process in the Internet Access Control Guide for Companies .
On the website you will find various information such as:
- Why block company websites?
- When to block websites in the company?
- Who needs to block websites?
- Cost or investment?
- Material to test your internet security
- What sites can I block?
- How to block websites?
Conclusion
Taking care of employee productivity and data security in offices is a task that often goes hand in hand with blocking websites in the business environment.
Knowing which categories and websites to block in the company is important to define what is productive and what is not.
To the next!
