MERRY CHRISTMAS - 12/2001

Avoid ëHumbugí label this Christmas by introducing ìTime-Outî for online Xmas shopping

While it looks to be a record year for online Christmas shopping, companies shouldnít say ìBah humbug!î to employee participation in this seasonal activity.

Instead, by creating a specific ìtime-outî period in the build up to Christmas and managing it with flexible employee Internet management (EIM) software, employers will be able to improve both productivity and morale in the office.

ìIt is unrealistic to expect staff not to want to do their Christmas shopping online during the day,î said Geoff Haggart, vice president of EMEA, Websense. ìA fair balance of access to the Internet for personal use at work can be achieved with flexible software, using a new Quota feature from Websense which allows staff to surf the Web for limited, but appropriate amounts of time. This gives employees the freedom to decide when and for how long they want to shop online, within reasonable parameters.î

www.websense.com