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The Internet highway has expanded into the workplace without fanfare or needed explanation. We have come to depend on the vast assortment of news available via the World Wide Web. It's the information highway that connects us all, and we want to feel that connection as instantly as others, if not sooner.

Most if not all companies operate with computers as a significant component of their business. It's how we maintain efficiency on a daily basis, with just the touch of a button, and we're there. Gone are the bulky typewriters that filled desks years ago. In its place are the sleek condensed computers that not only replace the typewriters, but open the entire world to a new and greater era.

There are many jobs that require one to have access to the Internet. This is where you must trust that those employees with such access use it as necessary for the job duties they perform. With that same thought in mind, companies should be able to monitor usage that may be misconstrued as improper.

Some adults at work are no different than children in a toy shop. They will push the envelope of boundaries and see how far they can go. You know the old adage, "give them an inch, and they'll take a mile". Human beings are creatures of habit, and once they are in the habit of doing what they want, it's difficult to reign them back in.

There is a time and a place for everything, but the workplace is where you work. When you abuse your position and do so knowingly you let those around you down in the worse way. Companies employ you, and as such what you do reflects on the company and those around you.

Blatant disregard demonstrates a lack of respect both personally and professionally. This is not an issue of privacy verses professionalism. It is however, in the best interest of the companies' right to know what employees are doing on company time. Your job duties don't include signing in to your eBay account to see if you've been outbid on a piece of toast that looks like Elvis.

With the economy as it stands now, and jobs so difficult to come by, there are enough companies looking for trustworthy employees to fill empty positions. Don't abuse the trust you've been given to maintain your job duties. Be mindful and respectful of those that have hired you for such.

Years ago, my grandfather ran a local hardware store that was operated with the premise that you provide a service to your customers by gaining trust, respect and honesty. He maintained that sense of work ethic until he retired, and to this day he is remembered fondly by the "old-timers" who long for days of yesteryear and days gone by.

He never lived to see the days of the World Wide Web, and what he knew in terms of the news came strictly from the newspapers or Walter Cronkite, but he left a legacy of honor that has stayed with me through the years that bestowed an appreciation and genuine respect of an honest days pay for an honest days work. The only difference between now and then is the advancement of technology into the complex mind of humans today.

Learn more about this author, Melody Hearndon.
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