My workplace is rethinking how strict they wanna be about people using the internet for personal stuff during work hours. They're kinda stuck between two ideas: one is pretty chill, basically saying as long as your work gets done, they don't care if you check social media or shop online occasionally. The other is more strict—only work-related browsing allowed, period. I'm honestly torn...the relaxed approach sounds nice, but could it lead to distractions or unfairness? Curious what others think about this.
At my last job, they started off super strict about internet use—like, they literally blocked shopping sites and social media. Felt like being back in high school computer lab, lol. But eventually they loosened up because people complained and it was honestly a pain for IT to keep updating the blocked list.
Funny thing is, productivity didn't really change much either way. Most people still got their work done, and the few who slacked off found other ways to waste time anyway (hello, endless coffee breaks...). I think as long as management clearly communicates expectations and trusts employees to manage their own time, it usually works out fine. Sure, you'll always have that one person who abuses it, but they'll probably slack off regardless of internet rules.
So personally, I'd lean toward the chill approach—just set clear boundaries and deal with issues individually if they pop up.
