IN FRATERNAM MEAM: AT WORK: HOW YOU CAN STAY OUT OF TROUBLE

IN FRATERNAM MEAM

Thursday, September 07, 2006

AT WORK: HOW YOU CAN STAY OUT OF TROUBLE

Everything that happens at work can be your boss's business. Keep that in mind the next time you're tempted to vent via e-mail or forward an off-color joke. Innocent words could make food legal evidence tomorrow. Here are some precautions to take against snooping supervisors:

1. KNOW YOUR COMPANY'S POLICIES
It sounds obvious, but few people bother to read through their employee handbook, where the fine print is located. Note how long youir job saves business records. "Before using a new technology, think about whether (usage or content) could violate a work policy", says Nancy Flynn, executive director of ePolicy Institute. Companies are starting to put restrictions on text messaging, camera phones and software downloads.

2. SURF THE WEB SPARINGLY
Wes surfing equals time wasting to most comoanies, so keep those ESPN.com hits to a minimum. Don't leave your Hotmail window open for hours, even if it's idle. Anyone monitoring your Web activity may think you spent all day e0mailing your friends and relatives. Delete your Web history from the preferences page, and never update your MySpace page at work - because work is the boss's space.

3. THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU HIT "SEND"
E-mails get forwarded, they can lack subtlety, and they're a written record. Be careful! Limit personal use of your work account, and erase all personal mail at the end of each day. While it's like to be archived, your employer would have to work harder to retrieve it. Avoid using your boss's name or other terms snooping software might be searching for.

4. PROOFREAD PROFILES
Treat blogs and online profiles (even e-mails) as you would a resume':check for spelling and grammar mistakes. "Be careful any time you leave a written record,"says Flynn. "Once it's in writing, you're not getting it back, since posts are forwarded and linked to all over the Web. "Never use your company's name or logo without permissio. Blog postings should avoid hot-button topics like politiics and religion. And skip items that could leave a bad impression, like your college beer-pcng championship.

5. SNAIL-MAIL YOUR RESUME
Be careful e-mailing your resume' as a Word document, since programs like Workshare let employers view earlier edits made to electronic drafts that coild show mistakes or inflated language. If you must e-mail, disable the "track changes" feature in Word and cut and paste it into a new document, or use Workshare yourself to wipe away older versions.

6. HOLD YOUR TONGUE
Don't leave voice mails you wouldn't want your boss to hear. Some companies archive voice messages, often turning them into data files. Voice mail is particularly revealing at a trail because the jury can hear, for instance, if you laughed after insulting a co-worker, "It's a smoking gun", say Flynn.

7. FORWARD WITH CARE
Delete raunchy jokes. Once you forward them, you put yourself in the mix, and some companies have treated those employee more harshly than the ones who simply opened them.

8. USE PASSWORDS
They help ensure that no one can hijack your computer to do internet searches or send e-mail attributed to you. Do the same for pictures you send and receive at work. Passwords don't mean a higher expectation of privacy; they just make posts more secure.

9. NO PORN AT WORK
Enough said. Yes, we know: you to to Playboy.com for the articles.

(Source:TIMEMAG/BUSINESS by Kristina Dell)

posted by infraternam meam @ 5:22 PM

2 Comments:

At 1:21 AM, Sidney said…

You are fired! ;-)
At 4:03 PM, infraternam meam said…

sid,
i am doing this on my own time, pls don't fire me!