2. Describe an effective e-mail and Web use policy for a company. The Internet has become an extremely valuable business tool, but it’s also a huge distraction for workers on the job. Employees are wasting valuable company time by surfing inappropriate Web sites

(Facebook, shopping, sports, etc.), sending and receiving personal email, talking to friends via online chat, and downloading videos and music. According to IT research firm Gartner Inc., non-work-related Internet surfing results in an estimated 40%

productivity loss each year for American businesses.

A recent Gallup Poll found that the average employee spends over 75 minutes per day using office computers for non-business related activity.

That translates into an annual loss of $6,250 per year, per employee. An average mid-size company of 500 employees could be expected to lose $3.25 million in lost productivity due to Internet misuse.