ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2008 > March > 26
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The do’s and don’ts of using company electronics
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When email hit the scene big time, I met an IT person in a Federal agency where I was working who referenced an email I had sent earlier that week. I knew I had not sent it to him so needless to say, I was more than a little shocked. Big Brother was alive and well and still is.
While you may not land in prison for sending jokes to your friends it is helpful to know your company’s policy about technology privacy.
Can your company let you go for using their technology for your own personal use? Yes, they can. According to a recent American-Management Association/ePolicy Institute survey, 84 percent of employers had policies governing workers’ personal e-mail use and one half of employers said they have fired workers for misusing the Internet or e-mail at work. The main reason for this is their fear of liability. Emails, for instance can be subpoenaed by the court.
And while you may not be caught in the act like the Peachtree City police chief was recently, (he was arrested for participating in adult chatrooms/pedophila using the company/city laptop while at home).
It makes sense to know your company’s policy and use caution in what you view and send.
Does anyones company have some looser rules about conducting personal business on company time? I have heard about some organizations that limit personal usage to certain times of the day.
With the lines between work and personal time blurred, can there be solutions about personal technology use that are effective and legal?
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