Time Wasting and Productivity Cont.

With technology today, opportunities and unfavorable circumstances are created especially in a place of business. Technology has improve communication networks, attracting human capital, enhanced efficiency, and etc. On the other hand, technology can cause communication breakdowns, increase the input level of stress, distractions, and so on and so forth.

Looking at the unenthusiastic side of technology, the questions becomes "Exactly how much time productive time is wasted at work?" According to recent article 2013 Wasting Time at Work Survey, written by Aaron Gouveia, their survey respondents said:

0-30 Minutes                  34%
30-60 Minutes                24%
Several Hours a Day      11%
1-2 Times a Week.         21%
Claimed to Never           10%

"When we last did this survey in 2012, 64% of our survey respondents said they waste time at work on a daily basis. This year that number is on the rise as 69% of the people surveyed in 2013 said they waste time at work every single day.  (Aaron Gouveia). This results clearly presents as technology advances so does resisting weakness.

Even if companies/organizations are to block personal websites on their work computers, employees still have their smart phones enabling the use of mobile applications at the touch of their finger tips. But why are employees are wasting so much valuable time on non-related work matters. Lets look at Dan Malachowsi top five time wasting excuses:

Don't have enough work to do      33.2%
Underpaid for amount of work      23.4%
Co-workers distract me               14.7%
Not enough after-work time          12.0%
Other                                         16.7%

Throughout my research there were many and more excuses that were used but I decided to use Malachowsi due to simplistic reasoning and what I would I personally choose as an excuse. 

http://www.salary.com/2013%2Dwasting%2Dtime%2Dat%2Dwork%2Dsurvey/slide/2/
http://www.davidsonstaffing.com/articles/salary/wasted-time/

Mobile Devices Internet Misuse

The image of workplace Internet misuse is often the one of an employee in an office environment using a desktop computer to access the Internet for matters not related to work. The truth is that mobile Internet devices, such as smart phones and tables, give employees the chance to misuse the Internet off company property. The most common example of how an employee mobile internet misuse can affect a company both legally and financially is the case of a employee using a company provided mobile phone to access the internet while driving a company vehicle. Common sense tells us that we should not use mobile phones to access the Internet or send text messages while driving, but we know that it occurs quite regularly. Employee caused accidents usually affect companies legally and financially regardless of whether the accidents occur on company property or off company property.

(http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/00873/TH25_THERN_MOBILE_873679f.jpg)

According to the government site Distracted.gov the three primary laws in North Carolina regarding mobile phone usage are: “Ban on all cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for bus drivers (Primary law), Ban on all cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for novice drivers (Primary law), and Ban on texting for all drivers (Primary law)”

(http://smallbusiness.chron.com/DM-Resize/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/151/184/87785452.jpg?w=600&h=600&keep_ratio=1)

Mobile Internet devices increase the likelihood of employees releasing confidential company and customer information often unintentionally. Mobile phones allow employees to post different types of media online in just a few seconds. An unauthorized workplace picture, tweet, Facebook post, YouTube video, or other release of company information through a social media website could cause extreme damage to a company both legally and financially depending on the industry and the type of information released.

Websites of interest

www.distration.gov

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/distracted-driving/overview.aspx

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ways-combat-cell-phone-abuse-workplace-46932.html

http://www.ehow.com/info_7757394_ways-cell-phone-abuse-workplace.html

Cyber Crime: Phishing Attacks

Many unknowing employees are exposing confidential information on company computers, simply by using personal email.  The danger is from phishing attacks; fraudulent emails with intent to extract financial data.  They lure recipients in with false claims and official-looking emails.  With just a click, malware is uploaded and cyberheist has begun.  Customer data, credit card, bank account, and Social Security numbers can all be obtained.  This can be a serious threat.  Certain industries make prime targets and are more at risk than others.  You'll be surprised to find out who is vulnerable to phishing attacks.
  
In a recent research study, by KnowBe4, several thousand companies were targeted to see if they were safe from cyber criminals.  Small, fast-growing businesses from the Inc. 5000 list were chosen, and publicly available information was gathered.  Domain names and email addresses, easily accessed over the Internet, were obtained and some 28,000+ emails were sent.  Each email was a simulated phishing attack that did not have a malicious payload.  The results were shocking, within a couple hours half of all the emails had been opened.  Of the emails opened, employees from about 500 companies clicked the phishing attack link, exposing private company information.  Before the study's IP address was shut down, they had been able to gather data for about 21 hours.  This can have serious consequences.  It is estimated that small-businesses lose more than $40 million a year to cyber crime.  A growing problem, cyber criminals target smaller businesses and banks in particular due to low investment in IT.  The industries found most susceptible to attack were; travel, education, finance, government services, and in fact IT services.


(https://s3.amazonaws.com/knowbe4-images/KnowBe4+WP+Images/Fail500IndustryGraph.jpg)

It is scary to think that so many businesses are at risk, yet employees are unaware.  The CEO of KnowBe4, Stu Sjouwerman, said, "Most people assume that antivirus software and an in-house IT team provide sufficient data security, but considering that IT is among the most phish-prone industries, it's clear that's a very dangerous assumption to make."  Most people at work do not consider the risks they may be exposing the company to while being on the Internet.  Simply opening strange emails can have severe repercussions.  Cyber crime is a very profitable growing industry, and should be a major concern for small businesses.  Proper training, education, and prevention is crucial for combating cybercriminals.

Articles of Interest and Sources
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/05/24/you-could-be-inviting-scammers-into-your-workplace/ (news article)
http://www.knowbe4.com/fail500/ (research study)
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/phishing