What started off as a casual comment turned into an interesting conversation with Vivek. This morning, he had suggested looking up at the user comments on Amazon for the book Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, considered GOD by investors. As I had expected, Amazon had been blocked at work under the category Â?ShoppingÂ?. Most of the web sites with reviews on the book were filtered by websense.
When I said this, he remarked, "Don'?t you think this sometime kills creativity and ensures your non-productivity"?. This is very true. Companies such as TCS, Cognizant expect their employees to code with no creative outlet whatsoever. By creative outlet, I mean reading blogs, rediff journals or anything of interest to the individual. I don't know the rationale behind blocking Internet access. Some call it security, some call it policy and misuse during cricket matches. Give it whatever tag you like, the fact remains that in this age denying something as basic is foolish and irrational to expect your employees to be abreast of all the developments in their respective fields!
An hour of reading will only rejuvenate the mind making one all the more productive! You are essentially creating a trap and if they believe in the illusion that employees are effective 10 hours because they have blocked all the distractions, then so be it.
These are some of the factors, not a component of the CTC :), that count towards making a great work environment and a satisfied working life!
Some questions lingering my mind :
- Should there be time and space limitations for accessing the Internet?
- While Internet might boost innovation and productivity in product companies, is it required in service companies where the main line of business is the ADM factory?
- How is productivity measured in firms to arrive at a conclusion that labor productivity is affected by Internet access?
- Does it not affect competitiveness when pitching for prospective customers?
Categories: work, internet, productivity