It’s been an interesting (though boring) past week at work. Last Friday, my boss walked by my desk while I was in the middle of texting, or maybe just catching up on Facebook or something. Whatever I was doing, I honestly shouldn’t have been doing it during work hours. But I do it a lot, and he’s apparently noticed, because he fussed at me about it. It really wasn’t a big deal; he just pointed at my phone while frowning and said “I’m going to take that away from you some day.”
I’ve tried to be more discreet with my usage since this past summer when pretty much the exact same thing happened. I keep a notebook in hand to cover the phone with if someone walks by; and since I’m at the front desk for our building, everybody walks by. But I don’t pay as close attention as I should and sometimes I’m a bit late. But this time I blatantly had it in my hand when he saw me, and was clearly not just checking the weather or time, so he gently let me know it’s been noticed.
Monday morning I let my two biggest texting buddies, L and Simplicity, know that I have to cool it. L is typically busy throughout the day too, so we don’t text a lot unless she has big drama to relate (which means, okay, we text quite a bit.) Simplicity and I have a lot of fun texting, though; the past two days have really drug by while I go through withdrawal. I can chat briefly in the mornings, then again at lunch, and that’s about it except for the odd bathroom break.
Ironically, I can write posts all I want because I do that in word. If someone walks by it just looks like I’m working on something, and if they get close enough that they might read it, I bring a “real” document to the front. Then I copy and email the post to my phone and use bloggeroid to publish to this blog when I have time to do it safely.
And yes, admittedly, I’m getting a little more work done because I can’t kill the time as easily as before. Between not texting and not reading Reddit and Crackd.com I have to do something to pass the time, and I guess it might as well be the work I’m supposed to be doing. *Sigh.* Life is so hard sometimes!
As of yesterday I’m apparently in another spot of trouble. I logged in to my computer Monday morning, entering my username and password at the security encryption screen as I always do, and went about my morning routine. It can take anywhere from five to ten minutes for my computer to finish booting up, and being the impatient person that I am I can’t stand to sit at my desk waiting for it. I’m not on the clock at that point, but I do try to use the time productively by either restocking the printers (highly paid engineers or not, they still haven’t managed to figure out how to put paper in the empty trays), checking the facility for overall cleanliness, or just taking a dump.
When I get back to my computer, it’s usually sorted out and ready to go. However on Monday, there was a new, additional security screen reminding me that the computer is for company business only and should not be used for any illegal activity. I had no idea at what point in the boot-up process this happened, but when I clicked “Okay” it took another four minutes or so before the computer was ready to use. I wasn’t annoyed enough to go onto the company’s message board site and post a complaint about it, but someone else was and I simply replied to his post saying that I agreed that it was annoying and seemingly unnecessary. I ended my post with a “hint” to the Security team that such a message will not deter anybody who has nefarious purposes in mind (yes, I wrote “nefarious”), and only serves to annoy and delay those people who just want to get to work.
Yesterday a meeting invitation came into my Inbox from no less than the Director of IT Security & Compliance (Thin-Skinned Division). He would like to take the opportunity to explain to me, my boss, and my boss' boss the new security screen and why it was added. Additionally, he wants to talk about the message itself, and I don’t think it’s to congratulate me on my writing skills. I wonder if he’ll want to discuss the reasoning behind him not making a general announcement of the change ahead of time and why it was done so that everyone would be aware of it. It just seems that would be more efficient than telling just three of us, after the fact, but that’s probably why I’m not a director of anything.
Neither my boss nor his boss (both of them are great guys, by the way) has said anything to me about it. Perhaps they haven’t seen the invitation yet; they’re both pretty busy. I haven’t accepted or declined the invitation myself, but I’m tempted to decline it with a note to Wayne that 1) I apologize for the admittedly combative tone of my message (I could have used more tact, truthfully) and 2) suggest that it may be more helpful to explain the reason for the extra security screen to everyone instead of just us three. I have a feeling that could just cause me more trouble, though.
I’ll probably get my wrist slapped and a warning to be less sarcastic in the future (or just stay off the message board altogether.) I would certainly hope that it wouldn’t go beyond that, but I guess it depends on how much weight Wayne has to throw around and how badly his panties got bunched up.
On the plus side, I have something new to worry, and write, about that doesn’t involve L or the wife. (But don’t get your hopes up; I’m sure something will come up soon.)
I’ve tried to be more discreet with my usage since this past summer when pretty much the exact same thing happened. I keep a notebook in hand to cover the phone with if someone walks by; and since I’m at the front desk for our building, everybody walks by. But I don’t pay as close attention as I should and sometimes I’m a bit late. But this time I blatantly had it in my hand when he saw me, and was clearly not just checking the weather or time, so he gently let me know it’s been noticed.
Monday morning I let my two biggest texting buddies, L and Simplicity, know that I have to cool it. L is typically busy throughout the day too, so we don’t text a lot unless she has big drama to relate (which means, okay, we text quite a bit.) Simplicity and I have a lot of fun texting, though; the past two days have really drug by while I go through withdrawal. I can chat briefly in the mornings, then again at lunch, and that’s about it except for the odd bathroom break.
Ironically, I can write posts all I want because I do that in word. If someone walks by it just looks like I’m working on something, and if they get close enough that they might read it, I bring a “real” document to the front. Then I copy and email the post to my phone and use bloggeroid to publish to this blog when I have time to do it safely.
And yes, admittedly, I’m getting a little more work done because I can’t kill the time as easily as before. Between not texting and not reading Reddit and Crackd.com I have to do something to pass the time, and I guess it might as well be the work I’m supposed to be doing. *Sigh.* Life is so hard sometimes!
As of yesterday I’m apparently in another spot of trouble. I logged in to my computer Monday morning, entering my username and password at the security encryption screen as I always do, and went about my morning routine. It can take anywhere from five to ten minutes for my computer to finish booting up, and being the impatient person that I am I can’t stand to sit at my desk waiting for it. I’m not on the clock at that point, but I do try to use the time productively by either restocking the printers (highly paid engineers or not, they still haven’t managed to figure out how to put paper in the empty trays), checking the facility for overall cleanliness, or just taking a dump.
When I get back to my computer, it’s usually sorted out and ready to go. However on Monday, there was a new, additional security screen reminding me that the computer is for company business only and should not be used for any illegal activity. I had no idea at what point in the boot-up process this happened, but when I clicked “Okay” it took another four minutes or so before the computer was ready to use. I wasn’t annoyed enough to go onto the company’s message board site and post a complaint about it, but someone else was and I simply replied to his post saying that I agreed that it was annoying and seemingly unnecessary. I ended my post with a “hint” to the Security team that such a message will not deter anybody who has nefarious purposes in mind (yes, I wrote “nefarious”), and only serves to annoy and delay those people who just want to get to work.
Yesterday a meeting invitation came into my Inbox from no less than the Director of IT Security & Compliance (Thin-Skinned Division). He would like to take the opportunity to explain to me, my boss, and my boss' boss the new security screen and why it was added. Additionally, he wants to talk about the message itself, and I don’t think it’s to congratulate me on my writing skills. I wonder if he’ll want to discuss the reasoning behind him not making a general announcement of the change ahead of time and why it was done so that everyone would be aware of it. It just seems that would be more efficient than telling just three of us, after the fact, but that’s probably why I’m not a director of anything.
Neither my boss nor his boss (both of them are great guys, by the way) has said anything to me about it. Perhaps they haven’t seen the invitation yet; they’re both pretty busy. I haven’t accepted or declined the invitation myself, but I’m tempted to decline it with a note to Wayne that 1) I apologize for the admittedly combative tone of my message (I could have used more tact, truthfully) and 2) suggest that it may be more helpful to explain the reason for the extra security screen to everyone instead of just us three. I have a feeling that could just cause me more trouble, though.
I’ll probably get my wrist slapped and a warning to be less sarcastic in the future (or just stay off the message board altogether.) I would certainly hope that it wouldn’t go beyond that, but I guess it depends on how much weight Wayne has to throw around and how badly his panties got bunched up.
On the plus side, I have something new to worry, and write, about that doesn’t involve L or the wife. (But don’t get your hopes up; I’m sure something will come up soon.)
I think you need to get an employment lawyer, but not for being in trouble. The minute you start the log-in process you are on the clock. That is company time, it is clockable, and to tell you that you are NOT on the clock is in violation of, at least, CA labor code. "Logging in" is a required part of your job function and they should respect that. As for being a smart-ass to IT, good for you. I worked in IT for a long time and a lot of them are self-righteous pricks, so fuck em'
ReplyDeleteNobody has really told me that I'm not on the clock when I log in; I simply don't count it unless I'm specifically doing some duty that I otherwise wouldn't, like getting a conference room ready for an early meeting or throwing salt on the icy steps before everyone else gets in. Generally it's just me getting my work area settled and ready for the day, but that might include walking around for a quick check or taking a 10 minute bathroom break. It's still my time, and I don't have to be there early (that's my choice because I don't like feeling rushed in the mornings).
DeleteGee, Advizor54, thanks so much for your attitude towards those of us who spend our days trying to make your computer work like it should, protect the company data, and respond to management demanding that we add disclaimers to the log in screens (you think we do it because we don't have other, better things to do?).
ReplyDeleteRob, he is right, it's a company computer, you're on company time, it's company bandwidth (which ain't cheap). Hard to side with slacking off, and having the audacity to post ugly stuff on a company message board. It's like one of our people replying to an "all central office" email extolling the virtues of a kids Halloween trek through the halls collecting goodies by telling them (as in REPLY ALL) to go find a water cooler to talk around and stop filling his Inbox with crap. He almost got fired. He definitely has no more chances. I hope that isn't your case.
Peace <3
Jay
It really wasn't a big deal. After I posted this (within minutes, in fact) my boss called me back to his office. He said he agreed with me about the uselessness of the additional screen, but that my letter went from criticizing the technology to attacking the people. We had a laugh about it, though. I edited the comment to make it less confrontational, and emailed the director an apology (which was sincere), and we'll see what he says at the telephone conference. My boss says he really is interested in why the banner was put up.
DeleteAlso, having worked in IT myself for many years, I understand your concern about the attitude towards IT. All I can say is that this is a HUGE company, and IT is it's own island of a department. Things like this come down fairly often, and it's rarely (from what I gather) driven by other management. It's almost always some ego-driven, big-headed manager of IT itself, like this director, who makes these decisions about "security" changes.
As for slacking off, what can I say? It's the only time I have to write my blog posts (until baseball season, anyway.) I always get the work done that has to be done, and it's always done on time and correctly. I can't help it if I'm so efficient that I have plenty of time on my hands. ;-)
The bad news is, those IT guys are probably going to throw a stack of printouts in front of you that show your browser history, copies of all the word documents you've typed on company time and any porn you clicked on. Advizor is right - you are on the clock and also, on their computer so they have to pay you, but they actually can (if they choose to) track everything you do. Thankfully, I can't do a damn thing on my shitty computer at work (your Govt tax dollars at work) and to top that off, I can't even bring my phone into the building! I say thankfully, because I'd probably be texting and writing blog posts all day long too. Hope they let you off with a warning.
ReplyDeleteNo internet history, as (like you) I can't do anything like that from my computer. Not that I would even if I could, but anything even slightly questionable is blocked on our internet.
DeleteAnd I never save the documents while I'm working on them; I write, copy the text and paste it in an email (using my own email server's webmail interface) and email it to my phone. Word has autosave, but I always delete the text before closing out without saving. The draft that is autosaved at that point is blank.
And yea, I got a light slap on the wrist from my boss about the message, though he agreed that the extra screen is annoying and (seemingly) worthless. Lesson learned on my part, and we're moving on from there. It wasn't a big deal at all.
Sucks...I like being my own boss. I close my door and rub one out any time I want. The only thing I have to watch out for is that I don't have porn up when the girls walk into my office unexpected.
ReplyDeleteI think I would get in a lot of trouble if I worked for someone else...
Good luck Rob, the only advice I would offer is, try not to worry about it until it becomes a problem. They either have something on you or they don't...either way there is not much you can do about it now...
It was definitely better in some ways when I was my own boss. If it weren't for the whole not getting paid thing, I would still be doing it! But thanks for your note, and yea, I'm not going to get into any trouble.
DeleteI agree with Kenny, I like being my own boss. When someone walks in, a quick Command H and it looks like I am working. And I am the one that sees the reports on where people are going on the internet.
DeleteCuriousRob, you like getting paid EVERY Friday?!? What's the fun in that?
Z