HispanicBusiness

Since the primetime broadcast of the Olympics is tape delayed, NBC has been reminding annoyed fans that all the games are available live online at any time.

But should workers try to sneak a peek at the livestream during work, employers have every right to enforce policies prohibiting social Internet use at work, according to human resource departments and experts.

"When you're at work, you're supposed to be working," said Robin Paggi, a certified human resources professional at KDG Human Resource Solutions.

Many employers and employees said the temptation to watch the Olympics at work has not been an issue, yet.

For example, Amanda John, a secretary for a nurse case manager, said her whole office is excited about the Olympics. Still, she hasn't had time to watch anything at work. She simply quickly checks the latest statistics every few hours and gets back to work.

"I'm trying to be productive," John said. "I have a busy job."

Elissa Ladd, assistant county administrative officer, likewise said county employees should be too busy to watch the Olympics at work.

All county employees must sign a contract when they are hired saying they understand the Internet policy and what will happen if they break it, Ladd said. The policy states that work computers should only be used for work and that anyone who breaks the rule can be disciplined.

"In cases like this, they'd probably be told to stop, and if the issue continued, there would be further actions," Ladd said.

And even though the Olympics are a limited-time event, it is perfectly acceptable for employers to discipline employees trying to break policies by watching the games online, said Paggi, the human resources professional.

Paggi suggested that employers worried about Olympic-related distractions send reminders to their employees about their policies. She also said employees worried about missing anything can record the television broadcast.

"It's exciting to watch the Olympics," Paggi said. "But when you're at work, you're getting paid to work."