Office workers behaving responsibly in RWC so far

Office workers behaving responsibly in RWC so far but employers need to be vigilant

So far, employers have not experienced problems with office staff watching live streaming of RWC games, or videos clips.

“However, this might change as we get down to the later stages of the tournament when enthusiastic employees want to become more immersed in developments or keen to watch replays of some of the more controversial action or ‘cooler’ action such as Sonny Bill Williams’ on-field shirt change,” says Employer’s Chamber of Commerce Central spokesperson, Susan-Jane Davies.

This tournament is big for NZ, but we have had a number of big sporting events recently including the US Open and the World Athletics Championships where sports fans might want to keep in touch with the latest developments. So for employers, the rules of engagement at work should not be anything new.

“Monitoring employee use or misuse of workstation computers and internet connections during the RWC is probably good housekeeping. Getting updates on Stuff or staff dipping in and out to check on the latest scores is unlikely to have much impact, but live streaming and video replays can use a lot of bandwidth,” warned Susan-Jane Davies.

“The risk for smaller employers is that excessive streaming could tip the employer over its monthly data plan. This could slow down normal email traffic and increase data plan costs (or do both). Unless the employer has additional software, it is also difficult to track down who is doing the streaming.

So what should employers be doing if they are worried?

“Most business grade routers will track the top sites that employees are going to. In most cases, this will be anti-virus software updates, your local news sites and Google, but if streaming video or radio sites start regularly appearing, then it is a good idea to reset expectations about workplace IT usage.

“Think laterally about how better to accommodate employee thirst for RWC activity. Letting staff know that watching clips during normal tea breaks and lunch breaks is permitted but watching out of these times is not. If possible put TVs in lunchrooms or a large meeting room so that staff can watch freely in their own time and when the action is on.

“Most employers don’t want to be spoil sports, but by the same token, taking a laissez- faire approach to workstation use outside of what your IT infrastructure has been scoped to handle, can be more costly than merely a dip in productivity,” concluded Ms. Davies.

ENDS

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