Streaming music or videos while at work might be becoming a thing of the past.  With more and more employees clogging up the Internet while at work, companies are shutting off streaming sites or limiting access.

Companies such as Proctor & Gamble, GE Aviation, and Major League Baseball have all taken steps to block or limit their employees' access to sites that use large amounts of bandwidth.  Sites such as Netflix, Pandora, and YouTube use such large amounts of bandwidth that they have the practical effect of shutting down business servers.  The problem can be so severe that even adding additional servers is not enough to fix the problem. 

With new sites popping up everyday and more and more apps becoming available, company policies have to change just as quickly to keep up with the ever-changing technology.  The reality of today's business is that most companies do or should have an Internet usage policy in addition to having social media and computer software and usage policies.

Most policies remind employees that when it comes to the Internet and computer usage, their privacy rights will be limited.  A good policy should also limit such usage for business purposes only and to the extent it is permitted, it should only be used during an employee's lunch or other break period.