Polish policemen barred from social networking site
Tue Jul 29, 7:22 AM ET
WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's national police headquarters has banned officers from using a popular social networking site similar to Facebook because they were spending too much time using it, a newspaper said Monday.
"Like many firms, we decided the site Nasza-klasa.pl is not essential for our employees to fulfill their professional duties," the Dziennik daily quoted police spokesman Mariusz Sokolowski as saying.
An internal investigation had shown police officers were often using Nasza Klasa, or 'our class', for idle chit-chat instead of working, the paper said.
They will still have access to the site after their working day ends. The site will also remain available for officers trying to track down offenders over the Internet, Dziennik said.
Some other Polish state agencies have also blocked access to websites such as YouTube to ensure their workers concentrate on their duties, the paper added.
(Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Stephen Weeks)
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I worked at the Census Bureau in 2000. No, I was not a census taker, everyone asks me that. I was a temp. Because they handle sensitive information they have their own temps that have gone through a security background check. One of the jobs I did there was compling large amounts of statistical information. It got very tiring on my brain. So periodically I used to go to Pogo.Com and play Animal Ark which is a fun little Mah Jong game. One day I could not access the site anymore. I asked a co-worker why and she said they track everyone's use of the internet and had probably blocked the site on my computer. I think being able to play Animal Ark actually increased my productivity. So I saw this article and it made me think of this.
I am wondering how many people on Gather use their internet access at work for non-work related activities? What do you use it to do? What sites do you go to? Lastly, do you feel it helps your productivity at work? How do you feel about people using computers at work for non-work related activities?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080729/od_nm/police_dc_1
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Comments: 24
I work from home, and if you look at my taxes, Gather IS part of my work, so yes, I do, LOL.
I think as long as you get your work done on time and correct, you should be able to have a little down time. People work harder when they enjoy the work and can take breaks. Umpteen studies have proven this, but businesses still want everyone to work like worker bees.
Until they figure out how to make a computer with cognitive reasoning(and we've all seen how this goes bad in movies), there will be people doing jobs. I guess letting them enjoy a little time at work is out of the question..
there are days its sooooo slow here.
George I agree my employer pays me to work for a certain number of hours and that is exactly how many hours they receive from me. I don't get paid for lunch, which I can have anytime of the day, so I consider it my time.
We have some that play on their breaks, but we don't really have access to regular computers in our area. I am a multitasker, by necessity. It was how I learned to deal with ADD before it was diagnosed. If I am talking on the phone, I have to be doing something else, most of my friends understand this... I can see where it would improve productivity for some people, but the problem comes in with those that want to do it, but don't get their work done very fast either. you also have a conflict with the fact that some people rush through the work at a higher error rate, just to say they are done and have time to do other things, like games, or in the case at my old work, extra smoke breaks. They were willing to work people on their machines harder, so they could take extra breaks, even if it was beyond their natural capabilities. That is the biggest problem. There is no way to institute something without it being "unfair" to somebody. I am not sure what the answer would be.
Boo Hoo....I thought that I should be able to atleast visit during my breaks...but no!!!!
Really irked me off......what's a fellow to do? so now I just sit and stare at the screen....
I can understand why they block sites though. Unless your on break or your allowed to go online, you should be working. The company is paying you for your time and work. So I can see it both ways.