You can insert your own joke about the Pope or bears or whatever. A report by a network consulting firm shows that workers spend 25% of work time goofing around online. In addition to the impact on the corporate network, risks for viruses and other malware, and, of course, the fact that the workers aren't doing company work, there are legal implications to this extracurricular activity. The use of a corporate network connection can imply tacit corporate approval of that activity. Most companies have plenty of legal worries already and don't want or need to be dragged into more. Some companies prohibit internal emails about non-work topics, including the ubiquitous solicitation for Girl Scout cookies, lest some judge someplace determines that the company is officially supporting those activites or organizations.
Balanced against those real or imagined dangers is the idea that reading blogs and related resources is a good idea. There are so many channels of good information, no matter what field you're in, that you're putting yourself at a competive disadvantage by not making an effort to read this stuff. There are lots of ways of getting a steady stream of good information - email, RSS, social-booking marking sites, etc.
So, what should you do? Start by not being an idiot. Assume that your company's IT department can see every thing you do, every site you visit. (If they can't, you've got bigger problems and probably should be updating your resume because your company won't last very long.) Then, find out what your management really cares about. Of course, there will be a formal policy that prohibits use of computer resources for non-work purposes. That said, many managers also know that their employees work hard and work long hours and need to take care of personal business during work hours. That may include ordering stuff from Amazon or checking on vacation sites. Most good managers manage by results (Did you get your work done on time and at an appropriate level of quality?) rather than by time (What time did you get to work? What time did you leave?). As long as you don't embarrass your boss into having to take action, your boss would prefer to leave you alone. Make it easy for your boss to do just that.
Balanced against those real or imagined dangers is the idea that reading blogs and related resources is a good idea. There are so many channels of good information, no matter what field you're in, that you're putting yourself at a competive disadvantage by not making an effort to read this stuff. There are lots of ways of getting a steady stream of good information - email, RSS, social-booking marking sites, etc.
So, what should you do? Start by not being an idiot. Assume that your company's IT department can see every thing you do, every site you visit. (If they can't, you've got bigger problems and probably should be updating your resume because your company won't last very long.) Then, find out what your management really cares about. Of course, there will be a formal policy that prohibits use of computer resources for non-work purposes. That said, many managers also know that their employees work hard and work long hours and need to take care of personal business during work hours. That may include ordering stuff from Amazon or checking on vacation sites. Most good managers manage by results (Did you get your work done on time and at an appropriate level of quality?) rather than by time (What time did you get to work? What time did you leave?). As long as you don't embarrass your boss into having to take action, your boss would prefer to leave you alone. Make it easy for your boss to do just that.
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