Companies in the Gulf should monitor and control the use of technology to prevent the misuse of the internet, improve employee productivity and create a safe digital society, according to the ICDL GCC Foundation (the governing body of the International Computer Driving License IT literacy programme in the Gulf).
The organisation asserts that while the net is of course an essential productivity tool, it can easily become detrimental to an organisation if it becomes a major distraction to employees. In addition, workers that download inappropriate material usually share it with colleagues and friends by e-mail, which can both damage a firm’s reputation and increase its risk of software virus infections.
“The abuse of technology in the workplace points to weaknesses in an organisation’s employee training, corporate policies, and technical defences,” claimed ICDL GCC’s director general, Jamil Ezzo. “Unless employers take serious precautionary measures to remedy these issues, they will remain defenceless against viruses, security violations and financial haemorrhage.”
A recent study conducted in the UK found that 64% of large companies had reported incidents of employee abuse of IT resources and one in five had suffered from some form of abuse directly related to the use of the internet.
“Observance of netiquette will result in increased productivity and significant cost savings in IT deployment in the workplace,” Ezzo added.
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