Two thirds of staff have their internet use at work monitored and filtered – in what the Chartered Management Institute describes as 'old fashioned' thinking.
According to the research, published in the Guardian, out of the 1000 managers interviewed, 65 per cent of organisations monitored web usage, and the same percentage blocked access to some websites – deemed inappropriate.
Jan Hutchinson, human resources director at Ordnance Survey who co-published the survey, said: "The low-level adoption of new technology runs in tandem with employers' belief that internet usage is a timewaster."
Falling behind
She continued: "The longer this situation is allowed to remain unchallenged, the greater the likelihood UK employers will fall behind their international competitors."
Workers in the police and local government were the hardest hit by the heavy-handed measures with 88 per cent of police officers monitored on the internet and 89 per cent of local government workers finding their website access restricted.
Facebook and social networks have become a major bugbear for employers, with many banning their use in working hours, but it seems to TechRadar that procrastination will happen regardless of internet access.
