>> Companies keep an eye on workers' Internet use

A large percentage of companies are monitoring Internet use by workers, but many still allow at least some personal use of the Web.

* Blue Bell Creameries in Brenham, Texas, asks employees to limit the amount of time that they spend at online shopping sites and blocks access to some specific Web locations.

"It's understood that work time is work time," says Bill Weiss, a spokesman with Blue Bell, which has 2,800 employees. He says the policy helps limit employees from accessing sites that can contain spyware.

* General Motors allows employees to use the Web for work and personal use but blocks sites that are considered inappropriate.

"We expect GM employees to apply good judgment when accessing the Internet and to keep focused on the task at hand," says Linda McGill, director of communications for information systems and services at GM. "We reserve the right to block certain sites for a variety of reasons."

* In the federal government, agencies are required to establish an Internet-use policy. Limited personal use of the Web is permitted.

But some employers are taking tougher stances. The city of Pittsburgh is rolling out a policy that will eventually limit almost all of the city's 1,300 employees to 30 minutes a day on the Internet. Currently the policy applies to public works employees. The restriction is handled through a Web-filtering program that tracks the amount of time employees spend online.

"It's a best practice for the taxpayers of Pittsburgh," says Dick Skrinjar, of the mayor's office. "We want the highest level of service. It makes us more effective and productive."

Three-quarters of companies monitor employees' website connections in large part due to concern about inappropriate Internet surfing, according to a 2005 survey by the American Management Association (AMA). More than half retain and review messages. Most also have policies regarding personal e-mail use, and more than a quarter have fired workers for misusing the Internet. Thirty-six percent track content, keystrokes and time spent at the keyboard.

Sixty-five percent of companies use software to block certain websites, a 27% increase since 2001, according to the AMA.

Eighty-seven percent of employees surf non-work-related websites while at work, according to a survey by Vault.com. More than half engage in personal website surfing every day.

Employers realize the need to monitor to avoid abuse, says Wally Bock, of Greensborough, N.C, author of the soon-to-be-released Performance Talk, which deals with performance issues. But smart companies, he says, are handling those who abuse the Internet on a one-on-one basis. Limiting all personal use, he says, goes too far.