The ethical aspect of the CYBER SLACKING
Is the cyber slacking on the job theft or increased productivity?In the red corner, cyber slacking could be defined as “indirect theft”: ”A fair extension of the notion of stealing to embrace more than property, but in fact anything whatsoever that is of value to an individual or organization, is in order. The time employees misuse, but for which they are compensated, as well as the monetary value of Internet access privileges via company equipment are properly considered objects of theft. Something of economic value has obviously been stolen.”
But in the blue corner: “If, however, the apparent Internet addict somehow still renders value to the company, perhaps even as a result of the cyberactivity, which might foster subconscious problem solving or provide a necessary break from drudgery or intense creative endeavor; there is obviously then no swindle” and “the widespread tendency to use the web for healthy relaxation or occasional business, yes, even for moderate cyber slacking. Productivity might actually increase with such a corporate culture.”
So, what is it? The problem with putting the matter in this way is that the answer could be: both. This is because the two of them are not contrary to each other.
In order to make sense of this phenomenon, we must consider this problem separately. Whether it is theft or not depends, entirely, upon the contact in force, whether explicit or implicit. If the employer posts signs on the walls to the effect that time wasting will be considered theft, and offenders will be fired, and stipulates this in all its employment contracts, there is an easy answer to the question. Then, yes, cyber slacking is explicit theft in such contexts. If not, then it is not explicit theft. What about implicit theft? This, too, depends upon the contract in force. In accordance to Polish Labour Law there's no direct regulations but IAUP (Internet Acceptable Use Policy) was implemented in many Polish enterprises. On the other hand surfing in the Internet could be reason of the productivity or rather creativity growth. But like usual, there’s no immediate and direct answer.
Block Walter "Cyberslacking, Business Ethics and Managerial Economics" Journal of Business Ethics
Friedman William "Is the Answer to Internet Addiction Internet Interdiction?"
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