Beware of the Grinch who Stole Cyber Monday
Watch where you surf, employees!
A new survey, released just in time for the holidays, found 60 percent of companies plan to squelch online shopping during work hours by blocking employees’ access to e-tail sites.
The survey, conducted by Robert Half Technology, an IT placement agency, surveyed more than 1,400 chief information officers. In addition to the 60 percent planning to block e-commerce access, 23 percent said they planned to monitor employees’ time spent shopping. Last year, Robert Half Technology’s survey found a mere 48 percent of CIOs planned to block online shopping on the clock.
To give you a little perspective, last year online research firm comScore found that consumers spent $1.028 billion on Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday, which typically kicks off the holiday sales season. Last year’s Cyber Monday spending was 16 percent higher than the year before--and the first year online spending surpassed the billion-dollar mark, according to comScore.
What better way to kick off 2011's holiday season than a little Grinchmas greeting from big brother in human resources.
Andy Riabokin, Robert Half Technology’s L.A. branch manager told the L.A. Times, “Rest assured that everything you click on is being watched. So don’t be surprised if you get a note from HR that says we notice you’ve been on a certain site a lot. They can track your every move.
And yet another reason to work in fashion: “I’m not shopping on eBay, it's research.”
