Games on state computers stirs flap

HELENA - Although it's against state policy for employees to play games like solitaire on their office computers, it's left to each department to decide whether to keep or remove games from the computers.

The issue arose recently at the Child Support Enforcement Division in the Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Division employees received new computers, but without the games like solitaire, hearts and minesweeper that come with the Microsoft Windows software package. These games had been on the division's previous computers for years.

 
Some union and nonunion employees complained that the games weren't on the new machines, said Lonnie Olson, division administrator. They said some other divisions in the same department had games on their computers.

“I said if they want them, we'll put them on,” Olson said, adding that he wanted to make sure division employees were treated the same as others in the department.

An anonymous tipster who said he worked in the private sector criticized Olson's decision.

“If state employees have time to play computer games, then there are too many state employees,” the tipster said in an e-mail to the Helena Independent Record. “As an employee in the private sector, I would run the risk of losing my job if my boss caught me playing games on my computer.”

Olson said he wasn't aware of anyone abusing the privilege during work hours.

“If there were abuses, we would take them off,” he said. “To the best of my knowledge, they aren't playing games during work time. If so, there would be a problem.”

He was under the impression that games were on all other state employees' computers, which isn't the case.

A reporter's inquiry to the director's office resulted in the Department of Public Health and Human Services removing games from all of its 3,000-plus computers. It can be done remotely.

In the department's newsletter, Mary Angela Collins, administrator of its Technology Services Division, said some divisions' computers had games, while others didn't. After comparing departmental policy with state policy, she said it became clear the department needed to remove the games.

The state policy says, “State computing resources are not to be used for non-state-related activities, including games or software that is not required for an employees' job responsibilities.”

Public Health and Human Services director Joan Miles said while the department had no reason to believe employees were playing games at work, it's better to remove the temptation.

“It sends a clear message that computers are not to be used for non-work activities,” Miles said in the newsletter. “We want all employees to understand that state computers are for work purposes and not entertainment.”

Sheryl Olson, deputy director of the Department of Administration, said the agency, which oversees the state's mainframe computer, adopted this policy in 2001. It wants no software on computers except for that necessary for employees to do their jobs.

“To me, the broader policy is nobody should be playing games on state computers,” she said. “We're at work to work. Why is this even a question? Who has time to play games?”

Randy Holm, chief of the Administration's Computing Technology Services Bureau, said it's up to each department director to decide what to do about the computer games.

But he added, “the best way to reduce the temptation is to eliminate them.”

Sheryl Olson said it's really an issue of “how do managers manage people's time.” Playing computer games at work is an inappropriate use of state employees' time, she said.

If state employees are playing computer games during their lunch hours, Olson encouraged them instead to take a break and leave computers.