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Main Content
Working Around the Block
China isn't the only one with a list of blocked sites
During the 90s, web browsers came up with a savvy solution for dealing with concerned parents and their children's internet usage - parental controls.
The simple application allowed mom and dad to freely restrict individual websites or to block entire categories of pages altogether. Unfortunately for everyone, except perhaps the overeager children, the settings could easily be changed with a simple change of passwords or creation of a new sub-account. This was perhaps the first sign that kids are not to be outsmarted when it comes to the computer and no matter how many walls are put up, they will manage to conquer them.
The generation of youngsters who first cracked their parents' accounts two decades ago have since grown up and with them, their ability to get around any sort of firewalls, security restrictions or otherwise limitations to access. Adulthood may have snuck up on them, but despite efforts, employers have been unable to catch the Millennial Generation off guard when it comes to their internet usage. Following in the footsteps of Vietnam and China, companies may be banning everything from eBay to ESPN, but their objectives and efficiency both seem to be weak, to say the least.
According to a recent survey conducted by Robert Half Technology, companies are increasingly going beyond restricting access to websites that have traditionally been classified as not work appropriate, like pornography, pro-violence or discriminatory sites. Social media has come under attack. Over half of those surveyed have completely banned any use of facebook, Twitter and MySpace at the office, with only 10% allowing free access for both personal and business use.
It may be true that regrettable posts can easily become a career liability, but the attempt to increase productivity by enforcing a prohibition seems to be ludicrous when SmartPhones can easily provide a more discreet way to tweet or browse through photos at the office. The same seems to be true for the bandwith argument. During the World Cup an increased number of companies blocked access to streaming video available on major sports' network sites. Though it may be true that connectivity was slowed and pages loaded at glacial speed, the fact is that the dedicated fans easily found alternative, albeit very possibly illegal, streams that they were still able to view.
The ease with which such limitations on usage are surpassed, even for the tech novice, makes them useless in most work environments. All that is required is a Google search of 'access blocked sites at work' and a few minutes later, everything is open again. It is perhaps due to this that those targeting the youthful audiences are finding alternative ways to make their websites suitable for the office.
Celebrity gossip bloggers like Perez Hilton or Pink is the New Blog, have mastered the art of concealing anything that may be deemed NSFW (Not Suitable For Work) by simply placing the racier images after a jump. Playboy has taken a similar approach by launching an entire website that is acceptable for the office. TheSmokingJacket is filled with bikini and lingerie clad galleries, as well as shortened articles on much the same topics as the magazine. Hugh Hefner seems quite happy with the recently launched site envisioning its popularity to be en par with the less suitable for work version.
"Next to the mansion, it's the best hangout on the planet," Hefner said.
While Hefner's objectivity as to his assessment is questionable, much like the actual appropriateness of a website where scantily clad women strike provocative poses for the camera alongside headlines like "10 Ways Not to Suck in Bed" the sheer fact that the site is up and running confirms that there are always ways to get around company restrictions. Where there is a will, there is a way and by the looks of it, between internet capable cell phones and a dose of tech prep, blocking sites at the office is a futile attempt by companies to encourage employees to actually work while at work.