If I were the one in charge of, lets say an office building, and I found one or more of my employees surfing the internet, for porn or art or anything other than the job that I'm paying them to do, then I would get on their case about it. It wouldn't matter what sites were being visited, if its not work-related then you have no business browsing the internet on the company's dime. In essence that's theft (of company time/money for personal business/activities/entertainment).

I understand the justice behind that statement. And I agree with the right of a company to enforce such a policy.

However.....the following is a matter of personal observation.

Over the years, I've worked in some tightly-regulated office settings. Such offices tended to have strict, no-nonsense rules concerning matters like attendance, punctuality, nose-to-the-grindstone atmosphere....people assigned to "watch" others, to insure that they weren't goofing off.....oftentimes, there were self-appointed "enforcers of the rules" in the building.......etc, etc....

Tension was constantly in the air; inter-office politics ruled; people didn't look forward to going to work in the morning (even if the pay was good) -- the entire culture managed to be both militeristic and paternal at the same time.

Besides which -- many of these "strict environment" type companies ended up going down the 'ol tube, anyway. Their strictness didn't ultimately aid in keeping them afloat. Employees were constantly in fear of losing their jobs, or of ticking off the wrong person, or of breaking some rule or other.

By contrast:

I have also had the pleasure of working in "lassiez-faire" type office settings. The atmosphere was relaxed, people were happy -- and the job got done.

But most of all -- there isn't the overarching paranoia to rule everyone's life day in and day out.

In my book, that's worth a cut in pay.

What good is money, if you have to kill both yourself and others in the process of earning it? Message edited on: 09/23/2004 11:22

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