What IF....you didn't have internet access?

[tiredofphilly11]

WHAT IF....your boss took away your internet access?



I was thinking about this earlier today and got scared shitless. I would seriously go nuts or hide underneath my desk like George Castanza.

[flyogagrl]

My company has lots of websites blocked using this software called "St. Bernard". It gives these messages saying "Your company has limited access due to this site's content of (games, humor, adult content, chat rooms etc.) There are only a handful of sites I can get one. Luckily, QLC and AOL (the two I use most frequently) aren't blocked out.
My feeling is because of this software, I should be able to go on all the other websites that aren't blocked out! Plus, I think going on the internet is much better than the woman who sits diagonally from me who is on personal calls ALL DAY. At least if something comes up, I can shut it down and come back to it if I want to.

[LakeJay]

I'd be a bit peeved for a day or two but I would definitely get a lot more work done and I would probably visit co-worker friends more often when I need to get away from my work.

[pisces2473]

There's always email! :twisted:

And I'd be slacking off by visiting people on the other side of the office.

[gluegun]

See, I don't have other people in the office to chat with. I NEED internet!

Therefore, if it was ever taken away from me I'd have to find a new job.

[pisces2473]

Yeah, most of the people I talk with work right up here w/ me. Most of my daily socializing is done via internet--email, IM, msg. boards...

[Kitty]

I think i'd honestly be okay if I dind't have internet. For the longest time I didn't ever go online. I'd occasionally check my personal email, but that was the extent of it.

I've just recently become so restless and bored with my job that I started going online. There is always something for me to do - so, I think i'd be OK.

[Winter Storm]

I'd quit. I've gotten so dependent on my message boards, news sites, email, I'd go crazy. I work in your typical cubicle-type building and most of us are busy at our own desks. I need this interaction to get me through the day. Forget that!

[wordsmith]

Eh...I didn't have internet at my last job (it wasn't really a desk job, either), and I don't have it at home. I don't think it'd be a huge issue.

[gluegun]

Do you guys think that we are a realistic sample of what is going on with employees through out the country? Or do you think that we are naturally drawn to the internet due to the nature of our jobs?

(In other words, are we "self selecting"?)

[pisces2473]

I think you are on to something, gluegun. My friends who dont have net access at work (or are heavily restricted b/c of time or whatever) NEVER answer emails, etc. Me, I write you back w/in mins of getting the email!

I think it's the nature of our jobs...

[bigboom]

i'd die...

[KittyCrazy]

It's like quitting any vice...the withdrawl symptoms would kill me at first, but I'd eventually be able to survive my daily life!

And as someone said....there's always email!! he he he

[wordsmith]

Right. Net stuff is only important to people with desk jobs. My brother who is a coach can't FATHOM spending more than a few minutes sitting at a computer, or using one recreationally.

[flyogagrl]

I think we are a pretty good samping of people our age in corporate america. We are the first generation to grow up with the computer, so we can't even imagine what life would be life without one. As for the internet, most of our perspectives see that the computer and the internet go hand-in-hand.
Plus, like someone else said, there isn't enough work to fill up the day. While my co-workers go out for their smoke-breaks every hour, I jump online. They have their vices, so I think I should too!

[midtwenty]

I could give a crap about having the internet or not. We don't have it at home and I don't miss it. If work took it away (outside of it becoming very difficult to research my client market) I wouldn't cry about it. It's not like food or air. I don't need it to live.

[tartytwenty]

I wouldn't mind, if I were busy. I was busier at my last job and no internet during factory work.

But I'm bored, all the time. So if they took it away, I would most likely look for a new job. So my answer is, if I'm not bored, take it away! If I'm a bit bored, take it away! If I have like 5 hours of downtime daily...don't take it away!

[wordsmith]

My last job, the one that wasn't a desk job, kept me busy and on the move the whole time, so it wasn't like I was sitting wondering how I was going to occupy my time.

[gluegun]

I envy those busy, always-on-the-go type jobs. I swear it can't be good for your health to sit in one place for 40 hours a week.

[pisces2473]

Originally posted by gluegun
I envy those busy, always-on-the-go type jobs. I swear it can't be good for your health to sit in one place for 40 hours a week.
Me too! I want one SO badly!

[djs1977]

1) I'd go absolutely insane if I didn't have internet at work with my current job. I don't even want to think about it!!

2) It's a total job related perk for me. I don't miss not having it at home at all. It's just something I do at work.

[chrisp]

well I would look for a new job...most likely if it was taken away...i would bring things to read ....on my jump drive. plus if my internet was taken away it would be a sure sign i was being booted since my job requires the internet...and if i wasnt i would be after brining in my own material.

i just get so bored...if i wasnt in a cube...had a different kind of job one where i was busy ...then i would be able to deal with it.

[mholter]

In the words of Dr. Stephen R. Covey, 'Let technology be your slave, not your master.'

There are many different ways to interperet this statement, but I like the Covey way. There are four classifications of tasks that people do every day.

• Important
• Not Important
• Urgent
• Not Urgent

By making a matrix of these classifications tasks can be divided into four categories:
• Important and Urgent
• Important and Not Urgent
• Not Important and Urgent
• Not Important and Not Urgent

It seems to me that a great amount of interent use falls into the Important and Urgent category. Things like e-mail or in a different context, ringing phone. Even more internet use falls into the Not Important and Not Urgent Category.

Covey recommends spending as much time as possible in Important ant Not Urgert category. Things like working out, reading to gain knowlege, or spending time with friends or family. These things are often the ones where people say "I'll do that tomorrow...'. Internet use can fall here, but it is rare.

The internet can provide many miraculous things. However it's important to recognize when the internet use or anything else is getting in the way of what you truely want to accomplish.

For the purpose of this discussion, jerking around on the internet at work will only get me in trouble. I won't produce as much and my job is performance is based on that. I can live and have lived without internet or TV just fine. However, they do make some things easier to accomplish.

The Stephen Covey method of organizing my tasks has helped me become more productive professionally and personally. I hope it can help you too.

Thanks for reading.