• Still, another approach is to allow employees a certain amount of
personal Internet usage. After all, in the pre-Internet age, we
shared a joke with a friend or passed on a bit of gossip in the hallway. Some friendly exchanges of communication on the job make
for happier employees and can actually help productivity. Some
coworkers commiserate and support each other daily via instant
messaging. Totally blocking personal usage would block some
pretty valuable communication. Go online to search for the monitoring
software that achieves the degree of control that’s right for your company and your unique employees.

• Contract with the employee regarding his Internet usage. Ask him
to help you design a contract that governs his personal Internet
usage. As much as possible, allow the employee to structure how
much time he will be allowed for personal use of the Internet.
Amazingly, most employees are more restrictive than their managers.
Other questions to ask the employee while developing the contract might be the following:

• What types of sites should you be allowed to visit?
• Which sites would it be fair to ask you to avoid in a company
environment with a diverse population?
• At what times will you be accessing the Internet for personal use? May we agree to restrict your usage to these times?
• If this is the first session, no consequences need be mentioned.
Consider that for a later session if the contract is breached.

Taken From: 201 Ways to Turn Any Employee Into a STAR Performer