IT@Pitt

Reason #345: Why Pitt works better than the government

In previous labs, one of which was my own group's, we had discussed appropriate and inappropriate internet usage at work and whether it is ethical for employers, organizations or the government to monitor internet usage of people. Recently, I came across this article that highlighted abuses of internet usage within a larger government agency, the Department of Interior. In a week long study, that's right, a whole week, it was found that employees of the Department of Interior spent rather substantial portions of their workday searching the internet for sexually explicit material. Some individuals spent up to 60 minutes at a time also going to gaming and auction sites. Engaging in this type of searching accounted for more than 24 hours of the agency's internet use in the ONE WEEK test period.
The agency claims to conduct training and have appropriate-use policies. However, the Department of the Interior is one of the largest governmental agencies with more than 80,000 employees, but it does not have a systemwide monitor or a blocking system. I personally found this shocking. The University of Pittsburgh has a very good systemwide monitoring and blocking system as we have learned and discussed in class. The small county agency I worked for in MA had a suitable system monitor and blocking system, but the Department of the Interior does not see a need for one. Perhaps, they would change their mind if they put some stock into the reports referenced in this blog. The agency had 80,000 employees, 7,763 of whom used computers to access gaming and auction sites during their workday, yet only 177 disciplinary actions have ever been taken against individuals for misuse of company computers.
I will surely remember, and may even bring it up, the next time that I pay $25 to go camping at a national park. The Department of Interior loses more than 100,000 work hours, equal to 50 full time employees, annually due to inappropriate internet usage that does not even take into account personal email my $25 dollars would just be a drop in the bucket.

posted by julie @ 10:21 PM