Have you noticed your corporate network slowing down lately? If yes, you might want to do a quick check of where employees are logging their time. With the proliferation of video sites like YouTube, more staff members are checking out the latest postings. Other popular sites include Yahoo, Fox, MSN, CNN, and ESPN.

Whether it is a stealthy break during the work day or an employee’s lunch hour, the downloading can result in a significant drain on company resources. The average online video files are seven times as large as an audio file and 100 times as large as a typical email message.

Some employers are starting to counteract this by blocking access to video because, even in “legitimate” cases such as breaking news, when everyone wants to check for updates, that can crash the system. However a blanket block can also make it difficult to be productive when you need to access information on customers and vendors.

It is a tough call. There is no doubt that internet access can be abused, lowering corporate productivity. On the other hand, blackouts can cause employee resentment in addition to limiting helpful information.

What have you observed? Knowing how colleagues use their work time, if you were the one creating policy, how would you vote?

1. Block access to video sites
2. Allow access but impose company rules on what can be visited
3. Post no restrictions