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Book Carole "Carole was inspirational. The energy and enthusiasm during her presentation was quite unique and helped to highlight the way forward with the challenges we face."
Mike Derrick, Chair, East Sussex Bright & Hove Registered Care Homes Association
Motivational Speaker Carole Spiers
helps you outlaw inappropriate dialogue online
Perhaps inevitably, HR departments have needed to carefully draft their Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) - an internet Code of Conduct for employees, aimed at preventing activities that are illegal, disruptive or a threat to security, and which takes in corporate rules of appropriate behaviour online, sometimes called ‘Netiquette’. Many IT Managers now block Facebook, YouTube or other social networking sites that distract people from their work, in addition to the main IT agenda of Content Filtering to block spam and restrict emails to work-related subjects.
Like all sweeping regulations, this could be said to penalize penalising the responsible majority. Strictly, the requirement to concentrate 100% on work throughout the day would stop you sending a short email to your wife/husband at any time - surely an unwelcome new stressor-element.
Local rules
Fortunately, the technology incorporates many features that can counteract email-related stress. Multiple-layer filtering enables 'Whitelisting' of trusted email senders' addresses to ensure delivery. Also the technology is flexible enough to allow local rules. You can allocate time and bandwidth quotas to each user, enabling access to leisure sites at particular hours. Another way round the problem is to block specific sites on the main network but provide free access on machines sited in the communal area.
This reminds us that today's workplace is a part-social arena, where most employees should be trusted to keep a sensible balance between working and socialising - a stress reduction factor in itself. And if we can persuade people away from checking their mail every few minutes and accepting that a two-hourly check is usually quite adequate, we will have helped to encourage a more sensible and practical use of that unwieldy and imperfectly understood IT facility - the Net.
Netiquette - summary
- Email abuse has led to a standard Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)
- Content Filtering Technology can selectively block messages
- Ideally, allow social emailing in the recreational zone of the office
Another key insight from Carole Spiers, International Leading Authority on Corporate Stress,
Motivational Speaker and BBC Broadcaster.
