Irish Eyes Unsmiling

Employee Entrance Blocked: Nearly two-thirds of workers in Ireland have Internet access on the job. But most (60 percent) of them are restricted from accessing certain material, including sites that offer social networking, entertainment, webmail and online shopping. That’s according to Eircom, a telecommunications provider in Dublin. It’s little wonder why companies block access to some Web sites: Based on Eircom’s survey, nearly 80 percent of workers access the Internet for personal use.

The worst offenders are workers ages 18 to 34, who squander more than one hour each day, including 36 minutes during lunch breaks. All told, 47 percent are blocked from reaching social networking sites such as Bebo, MySpace and Facebook. Forty-three percent are blocked from accessing YouTube and similar entertainment sites, while 32 percent have no access to webmail and more than one-quarter of employees are unable to visit portals such as Amazon or eBay. Employees are aware they’re being watched, either via software (37 percent), over-the-shoulder bosses (27 percent) or even colleagues (13 percent).