This is not a surprise really, given the fact that there have been a number of rather high level hijackings of computer systems in recent months. It is always a bit of an inconvenience of course: one has to do another round of training or perhaps create another password (conforming to the policy, of course). But manageable and somewhat expected.
This most recent update, however, had something that was a little more depressing.
Starting a bit ago, every time I before I am able to get to my screen but after my log in, we get a long legal statement. It is a paragraph, a rather sizeable one, saying that you acknowledge the computer belongs to the company, that everything done on or through the computer belongs to the company, and that they have access to anything that you do on the computer at any time.
Every day on startup.
On a practical level, of course, it does not impact me. I had long ago learned that work computers are really on for work and even though "occasional personal use" is still authorized, I dropped that off as well so that - literally - it only ever go to work related sites. If they were to actually search my drive (I just assume they do), other than some cute pictures of my pets they will not find anything on there that belongs to me.
The part that bothers me, I suppose, is the change in tone. All of these things - the fact the computer is not mine, that everything that I do on it is monitored, etc. - these are things that I (and I would think, anyone that has worked in the private sector over the last 10 years) would acknowledge. What has changed is that before this was included in the employee handbook (or similar documents); it was implicitly understood. Now, it is explicit.
How does it make me feel? Honestly, a bit like an untrusted criminal. The sense that every day you need to be reminded that things are not yours and you are potentially being watched is the sort of things one expects from horrible governments that view their citizens like potential security risks. Not the sort of thing that trusted workers are supposed to feel.
I will manage it, as will we all, I suppose - this is the new way of the world. What it does make me feel is just that much more disconnected from my job other than purely as a salary and benefits earning exchange. I will endeavor to continue to do a good job - but, as with everything else, I will also endeavor to continue to separate the work and the personal arenas of my life.
After all, apparently, such separation is not only good business, but also good personal life management.
I hear you and am sympathetic. I am a knife collector and keep pictures of my knives on my hard drive in case I find another for sale and I want to compare with what I have in stock. I do not have any sales with others using my work computer, but it would be easy to do.
ReplyDeleteI think firms do have a right to state out loud what they provide for their employees to conduct business belongs to them. It is the 'Bad Apples' who take advantage of this that screw it up for all the others.
Anonymous - I certainly agree and concur that companies have such a right. What feels...well, dehumanizing about it...is that we switch over to a separate screen that the employee has to acknowledge every day prior to being able to conduct their work.
DeleteOnce implemented, of course, this can become de rigeur and I can see a day where employees have a number of screens to click through acknowledging every policy the company chooses to enforce. Sadly at that point, employees will feel little more than cogs, being reminded from literally the start of their shift that The Compassionate Management is watching, always watching.
I think the reason these things are becoming more explicit, is due to the incoming generation of employees. You and I were weren't brought up on the internet and computers and so we see them more as a tool and thus find it easier to associate that are employer owns that tool. The younger generations have had computers their entire life and in many forms and so they look at them as more of a right than a tool.
ReplyDeleteAt my last job, my boss was very understandable and actually encouraged us to use the work computers to take care of home issues if it made life easier for us... as long as we got what we were paid to do done and on time. I found it refreshing and took care of things from time to time.
Yet another thing I am reminded of was a design I was doing had a board with a hole that sat down over a post and I need some sort of ring to clamp on that post to hold the board onto it firmly. I did a search on all kinds of ring clamps and was going through them one at a time to see if they would work. My boss at the time came in to ask how I was doing in my search and I told him I hadn't found anything yet. Next on the list was 'nipple ring' which I clicked on. I should have realized what it was but I was so lost in the context of the project that it never occurred to me until the picture of a boob with a nipple ring popped up on the screen. I don't think I ever hit the back button so quickly. My boss got a good laugh out of that.
Ed, you very well might be right. I have always viewed any work item as something that belonged to work and I used, not owned. At the same time, I have also had bosses (years ago of course) that had a similar sort of outlook. The driving factor was that we both knew that, as adults, I would not abuse the privilege.
DeleteThe search story is funny, and probably not at all unusual. Sadly, I fear in many companies these days even an innocent mistake like yours would be grounds for discipline if not dismissal.
Fewer adults being graduated now. And the liberal mantra is almost "what's yours is mine"...
DeleteI dunno about that either, TB. If I have to get in your face and wag my finger and threaten you…why are you working here? If I have to waste time and police you, or pay someone else to do it…maybe I’m hiring the wrong people?
ReplyDeleteAnd yet… I have seen people pull stuff that is actionable in court, employees and employers… that is so stupid my mind boggles. Some people DO need a nanny watching them 24/7/365. They will literally risk their jobs to screw the company out of $20.00. And in tighter knit industries word can get around fast. But they do it…and I have seen companies flagrantly violate contracts so that one corporate seagull can crap on another. I have seen idiots with egos throw huge deals out the window as they fight like animals over nickels and dimes.
I’d look at it as a gesture that wasn’t meant to include you. Could it be aimed at others?
I do not think it was specifically aimed at me, Glen. If you wanted me to take a guess, I would think that this has come up recently in some other context where this was an issue with an employee that was threatened with dismissal and noted they had never been informed. Thus, the warning.
DeleteI have seen what you speak of too. It is always worse when companies are in distress, both from the economizing side as well as people starting to worry about getting "their fair share" as the company tanks.
I worked in IT, on the support side. 20 years ago, we had to create a pop up at login basically saying the same thing. Back then networking and hacking were still new. It was amazing how many people surfed the net at work.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment - I had no idea such things had been going on for so long. I am not amazed at how much people surf the net at work - I have seen it first hand. Making things convenient almost guarantees they will be tried.
DeleteThis stuff bounces off me like water off a duck's back. In the military, that warning was on the screen from the time the military started using computers! I dealt with this for over half of my 21 years in the Coast Guard. Computers are the proverbial "screen door on a submarine." Companies know it's almost impossible to keep a worker from doing something nefarious his computer. About all the companies can do is to bluntly say "If we catch you, yer goin' down!" My gripe is with the likes of Wally World, where the customer is treated like a criminal, and the criminal like a customer. Wanna buy some razor blades? TRY to find an employee who will open up the locked display to get them out for you and put them in a HUGE plastic box to keep you from pocketing them before you get to the door. On the other hand, shoplifters will go in, pocket items, and walk out, in full view of the employees and "security." No one does jack...
ReplyDeleteIndeed,... it is a "new world..."
Yeah what is it with that, Pete? Why are they so paranoid about razor blades? They have all kinds of expensive skin and hair and beauty care items out flapping in the breeze for sticky fingers... but for some reason they throw guards up around the razor blades? Is it because they think they can be used as a weapon? I cannot imagine how with the multiblade cartridge types... am I missing something here?
DeleteI am so clueless. When they put them under lock and key here, I saw the plastic door over them and thought it was broken when I couldn't lift it to get the blades out. I eventually pried up one side, got my blades, and told the lady in the pharmacy/drug department that the display was broken and the door over the blades was jammed shut. With some embarassment she explained that I was supposed to fetch a responsible adult to help me with them.
I don't think I was the only slow kid to make that mistake, eventually they hooked up an alarm that went off when some old stubfart started monkeying with it. I can just imagine their embarassment when they just wanted a package of razor blades and the alarms go off...
Now that I turn my formidable intellect on the issue, I must disagree with Ed above. Kids are only part of the problem. The real issue here is that We don't punish criminals anymore. They can do what they do and it's all society's fault. 50 years ago everyone knew where the lines were, and what would happen if you crossed them. The laws WOULD be enforced, and then there was the social stigma attached to being caught in such crimes. People didn't put up with crime because they couldn't afford it. Now - we spend billions on crime and punishment and all we have to show for crime reduction initiatives is more crime that doesn't get punished. We live now in a low trust society and this is merely one more facet of it.
But whadda I know?
I absolutely agree with you Glen. We don't punish the criminals anymore and the reason is due to the lawsuits. Wrongful termination lawsuits rank right up there with spilling hot McDonald's coffee on one's crotch. I've often opined that we need some sensible tort reform in this country and that every thing isn't negligence and worthy of several millions of dollars in a lawsuit.
DeletePete - I am sure the military has been doing this since pencils and forms were invented. I am even sure that larger companies have been doing this for a while. I have never worked in quite that big a company, so this is a first for me.
DeleteOn accessibility - yes, it is (I believe) 100% tied to crime, or potential use in crime. So, for example (my personal gripe) any actually effective cold medications are under lock and key. And it seems to take an act of Congress to get them.
Sadly, I can not see a case for either enforcement of the laws against theft or tort reform. In either case, the proponents would have to push against entrenched social groups and beliefs to the point that I doubt they would be willing to do it.
There is one way which would allow instant correction though. Do not allow companies to write off theft on their taxes and watch enforcement climb.
They steal things like razor blades and sell them on the street for their next fix, Glen. Not long ago the most stolen item in grocery stores was liquid Tide laundry detergent! The MO is to load up the cart and then barrel out of the store like a runaway train. No one even tries to stop them. They resell the detergent in the 'hood, and then go see the man about the fix.
DeletePete, I just read another article today about San Francisco and a thief that absconded with a large trash bag full of goods. CVS has closed stores there because of the theft. Soon enough, there will be retail deserts and you will not be able to get companies there for love or money.
DeleteNot exactly on track with what you're talking about here, but... when my local newspaper went digital, they provided a free iPad for anyone who wanted it for the duration of their subscription. Almost everyone I know who's gotten one uses it for everything, as if it were their personal possession. Considering I'll probably have to return it at some point, I'm not using mine for anything other than reading the paper. I don't want anything personal on it that I have to wipe clean or revert back to factory settings.
ReplyDeleteActually, it is quite relevant Kelly. Your story points to (I suppose) the reason that my company took the action that they did: if I have it in my possession, it is just like I own. I would also be willing to bet that any number of those iPads (not yours, of course) will come back much worse for the wear, as people often never take as good a care of things that they did not pay for as those that did. You are certainly wise to use it only for the intended purpose.
DeleteOn a side note, I have not heard of a newspaper doing this before. Either the desperation of subscribers is growing or iPads are cheaper than the cost of newsprint. Perhaps both.