The internet gives small-business owners an opportunity to increase the speed and efficiency of their staff through the use of cloud computing, mobile devices and virtualization. However, allowing their employees to shop online could pose serious cybercrime concerns that could potentially debilitate a company.
The holiday season is usually a time when employees kick up their internet shopping in the workplace. According to recent research put together by CareerBuilder, less than half of respondents said they plan to do some shopping in their workplace this year, which is comparable to numbers from similar surveys in years past.
“Employers tend to be more lenient when it comes to workers using breaks or down time to get online and – in some cases – take care of some online shopping,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.
Employees must remain responsible in the office
Small-business owners who haven’t created an Acceptable Use policy need to do so so their employees are aware of what sites they are allowed to surf and how they can use the internet while at work, especially with the holidays just around the corner.
The survey demonstrated 30 percent of respondents said they’re most likely to partake in online shopping at work after December 7, but some aren’t following the rules set forth by their employers. Eleven percent of respondents said they have fired an employee for something they posted on social media, while 7 percent have sent an employee packing because they were holiday shopping at the workplace.
Shopping while at work, or using the internet for unintended purposes, also has the potential open up a business to cybercrime. Employees must remember to always make sure they are shopping on trusted websites and they are not visiting foreign pages. With necessary protection such as cyberliability insurance, small-business owners can ensure their company is safe from various forms of cybercrime.
“However, it is the employee’s responsibility to know and adhere to their company’s policy regarding Internet usage, said Haefner. “Be aware of how you spend time on the Web, and don’t let your holiday shopping get in the way of your productivity.”
