Internet, Email, and Phone Use in the Workplace
It’s a syndrome that sweeps offices across the country at 3:45 PM daily: mass boredom and a craving of outside entertainment. And guess what…sweet, sweet distraction is right in front of us. It’s our computer. It conveniently (and dangerously) doubles as a portal to the outside world. We can reach out to any site or anyone we want (provided our company doesn’t have it blocked). Salvation! But, wait. Stop. The eyes of the IT department could be resting upon you this very moment. In fact, they probably are. Most companies can access anything that’s goes into or comes out of your computer: a list of the sites you’ve visited, the transcript of every email, etc. And yes, they can even listen in on your phone calls. But wait—that doesn’t mean you have to wear an aluminum-foil technology-blocking hat and shun all outside contact. It just means you have to be careful. Here’s how.
Internet
While it should be obvious, it’s still worth stating: think twice before typing in a seedy url or spending four hours on YouTube. Your boss will know. It sounds like a stretch, but many companies actually filter for certain URLs and website content—when it’s found, red lights go off and your firm may call in the Internet-equivalent of the D.E.A. You don’t want to end up explaining why you went to milf hunter dot com. When using your cubicle computer, avoid any sites that are NSFW (not safe for work). And if you're an unemployed joker or work for an NSFW website yourself, be a pal and let your corporate buddies know when a link you send them is a bit risqué.
No—the long arm of your office IT department doesn’t stop at the URL box of your web browser. They also have full access to your most private inbox.
Personal
If you’re anything like me, your primary mode of communication with your friends during the workday is email. But I make sure to keep all of my personal emailing confined to my personal email address, and so should you. Many companies employ staff to monitor work-email accounts, so just be aware that anything you say there is potentially being read by someone else. Admittedly, they’re probably more interested in catching things like “I’m about to do an insider trading deal,” or “attached is my resume for your consideration,” than finding out why you hate your roommate—but still, exercise caution. Some companies block sites like Gmail and Yahoo at work, but it's still worth keeping your business and personal life separate when it comes to email. After all, you're probably gonna get a new job and lose that work addy sooner or later.
If your company blocks access from all personal email site, this doesn’t mean that you have to remain completely mum to your friends during work hours. Just don’t say anything too incriminating, keep your emails clean (no seven words—NSFW), and if you can, to a minimum (bad things to write include why you hate your job and/or your boss, what your post-lunch bathroom visit looked like, and any inappropriate-for-work anecdotes from the weekend). Overall, companies are more concerned with what you are sending out than what’s coming in, but if your friend sends across something ridiculous just make sure you don’t join in, and remind them to exercise caution when responding to your work address.
