Internet addiction prevention and education: preventive education training can reduce problematic internet use in the workplace and help employers create a work environment that encourages identification and treatment of addictive online behaviors.

This is the second of two articles exploring Internet addiction and the workplace; the first discussed how employee assistance professionals can help workers understand the factors underlying their online habits and reintegrate former activities into their lives.

Over the past decade, employee Internet abuse has become a growing business problem. Employees who play online games, chat with online friends, or look at online pornography during work hours not only cut into corporate productivity but also diminish profits.

Most alarming for employers is the growing legitimacy of Internet addiction as a clinical disorder, thereby investing finns with significant liability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under the ADA, fired workers have sued thier former employers for wrongful termination, claiming that they suffer from a mental disorder and holding the company responsible for providing access to the "digital drug." While such claims seems frivolous and even ludicrous to employers, more cases are being seen in court each year.

While managers may recognize and acknowledge the costs associated with employees who misuse and abuse the Internet during work hours, many do not yet realize how problematic online use can easily turn into a psychological addiction. EA professionals can use their clinical knowledge to help educate business leaders to effectively address Internet addiction in the workplace.

STAYING CURRENT

Companies have long relied upon written policies to convey the importance of appropriate Internet use within the workplace, but studies reveal that employee Internet abuse is on the rise despite the development and implementation of such policies. Companies are also having difficulty updating policies to stay current with new technologies.

Assume, for example, that a firm moves from Intranet-based e-mail access to a wireless system and supplies its employees with Blackberry devices that can access online accounts. The firm must then modify its Internet use policy to incorporate these new applications. Unfortunately, companies often upgrade workplace technologies without updating the accompanying use policies, leaving themselves at legal risk if an employee abuses the new technologies and no specific policies are in place to warn against it.

Corporate training that targets employee Internet use and its potential for addiction is an effective way to communicate Internet use polices and aid in preventing suspected cases of online abuse. In most cases, however, employers limit Internet training to teaching workers how to use the Internet. If addiction problems emerge, employees are unaware of how to cope and often are reluctant to seek help.

EA professionals can utilize educational programming to present key job training issues that teach employees how to effectively integrate computer technology into organizational settings. Research has found that educational training programs on Internet addiction have proven effective in preventing new cases and improving employee satisfaction and cohesion with new technologies.

Studies also have shown the benefits of prevention and education programs in helping employees better understand written Internet use policies and reinforcing their message. Employee education helps improve compliance with written policies that mandate employee accountability and ethical integrity when online. In addition, education enhances employees' responsibility when using workplace technologies, improving overall organizational efficiency and performance.

EA professionals can play a significant role as change agents by being at the forefront of implementing educational programs. Like sensitivity training for sexual harassment or cultural diversity issues, prevention and education programs on Internet addiction can reduce the occurrence of future incidents and decrease corporate liability and risk. Such training should address key issues such as early detection, online time management, risk factors for abuse, co-worker involvement, and creating a corporate culture that supports treatment and recovery

PROMOTING EARLY DETECTION

In the past, supervisors worried if sudden changes in personnel performance signaled alcoholism or drug dependence. Today, poor performance may mean an employee is addicted to the Internet. Internet abuse, however, is often disguised as necessary online use for work. Outside the workplace, an employee may be addicted to online use through his or her home computer, creating a productivity drain through frequent tardiness and increased absenteeism.

Similar to substance abuse prevention programs aimed at creating drug-free workplaces, specialized training can educate employees about the warning signs of online addiction to assist in early detection. Research has documented serious consequences of using the Internet in an addictive manner--social isolation, depression, marital discord, divorce, job loss, and financial debt as a result of obsessive online gambling, shopping, or gaming.

In an age where computers are an essential part of our work and even home lives, raising awareness of the warning signs of addictive online behavior is essential to reducing the potential risks of abuse. Warning signs include the following:

* Staying online longer than intended;

* Feeling preoccupied with online use, often to the point of daydreaming and anticipating the next online session;

* Inability to control online use;

* Feeling restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to restrict or stop Internet use;

* Jeopardizing relationships or career endeavors because of excessive Internet use;

* Lying to family members or friends to conceal the extent of involvement with the Internet; and

* Using the Internet as a way of escaping from problems.

ONLINE TIME MANAGEMENT

Employee education should also address what constitutes appropriate use of the Internet. It is commonly understood that downloading online pornography, engaging in instant messaging with friends, or gambling online are inappropriate behaviors in the workplace, but these activities also serve as gateways for more serious problems.

Certain online applications are more likely to trigger compulsions, such as viewing or downloading pornography, participating in sex chat rooms, and gambling, shopping, or gaming. Even addictions to online auction services such as eBay have been documented. Internet training should address ways to help employees self-monitor their online use without abusing it.

EA professionals can help employees establish clear time management practices surrounding their computer use. Ask employees to keep time logs of their computer use to improve their accountability when online. Encourage them to get up, walk around the office, stretch, do breathing exercises, meditate--anything to take a short "vision break" from their computers. A quick time out not only helps disrupt unhealthy patterns of online use, but can help employees feel more refreshed and better able to tackle their next job task.

RISK FACTORS FOR ABUSE

In more serious cases, risk factors such as loneliness, stress, depression, anxiety, and prior substance abuse may trigger an addiction to the Internet. For instance, an employee who has shown exemplary performance in the past but is dealing with a new problem--a recent divorce, a death of a loved one, or problems at home--may turn to the Internet as an escape. This employee may become overly involved in online relationships to avoid dealing with the loneliness and social isolation in his or her life. EA professionals can encourage workers to seek treatment when problems emerge and help them identify ways they may be using the Internet to escape underlying issues in their lives.

According to addiction theorists, addictions accomplish something for the person, however illusory or momentary the benefits. Because of the mental pleasure people receive from their addictions, they begin to behave more intensely about them. Feelings of excitement, euphoria, and exhilaration accompany online behavior, which in turn reinforces compulsivity. Thus, the driving force for many online addicts is the relief gained by engaging in the Internet. And because addictions serve a useful purpose to the addict, the attachment or sensation may grow to such proportions that it damages a person's life.

Educating employees about the dynamics of addiction can help them understand how they may be using the Internet as a tonic to cope with missing or unfulfilled needs that arise from unpleasant feelings or situations in their lives. Used in this manner, the Internet serves to block out sensations of pain, uncertainty, or discomfort that distract from a person's focus and absorb his or her attention. It is this perceived benefit that explains why someone will keep repeating the addictive behavior. Training can offer employees a non-threatening way to learn how to break unhealthy patterns of online behavior and come to terms with how they may be using the Internet as a means to escape or run away from underlying problems in their lives.

INVOLVING CO-WORKERS

Most employees care about co-workers or family members who may be struggling with addiction, but have no idea how to help. EA professionals can explain how employees can safely intervene if they believe a co-worker has a problem with addiction.

For example, describe some typical scenarios and possible steps that a concerned co-worker could safely take. Given the relative newness of online addiction, each employer may have a preferred method of addressing online addiction in the workplace. It is important for EA professionals to tailor their training to the policies of the employer, especially in regard to reporting incidents and following the procedures for doing so.

CREATING A SUPPORTIVE CULTURE

In general, training can help erase the stigma of addiction in the workplace. The training should urge employees who are abusing the Internet to seek help at the earliest possible stage and persuade employers to create a safe environment that encourages workers to intervene with their co-workers rather than ignore the signs of addiction. Training also should provide support for workgroups--supervisors, co-workers, employees, and support staff who may be dealing with an employee's addiction, reassuring them that they did the right thing to get involved and help facilitate an intervention.

Addicted employees often are afraid to take advantage of treatment resources, so consider giving employees access to an anonymous, independently run helpline through your EAP For employees in need of treatment, a growing number of employers have started to initiate referrals to EAPs to help addicted employees, further reducing the need to take drastic actions such as termination. By exploring new approaches to handling employee online abuse, employers open the door to using the Internet to increase performance without risking productivity losses under the guise of necessary Internet use.

Ultimately, workplace training offers a proactive response to Internet addiction and aids in teaching employees how to use technology responsibly In the near future, prevention programs for online abuse may be encouraged and even initiated by human resources managers to keep costs down as the incidence of employee Internet abuse and addiction rises. EA professionals can play a key role in developing and implementing employee training and prevention programs to address problem use of the Internet in the workplace.

Kimberly Young is executive director of the Center for Online Addiction (www.netaddiction.com), a recovery service and consultation firm specializing in Internet related conditions, and an associate professor of business at St. Bonaventure University. She has written numerous articles on Internet addiction as well as two books, Caught in the Net and Tangled in the Web.