Every job you take on has negative parts to it. I think we can all agree with this. It’s also interesting to witness weird behaviors humans do in the work setting and how they justify it. A big pet peeve of mine is a combination of these two ideas. I’m willing to share one this today. I will be talking about the behavior of employees and the attachment to company-owned devices. Since I started my full-time job, this has always been something of a mystery to me. I hope my perspective is helpful or at least insightful.
Storytime
During my shift, I was tasked with installing software on computers that employees have been assigned. I simply had to call the person, install the software, and confirm it displays on our web portal. This software is a mobile device management software with many capabilities (remote wiping, geofencing, diagnostic tools). For the most part, the process was smooth. However, I did run into a small issue. Two employees were caught off guard when they read the meeting name and asked me about this software. When explaining, the employees quickly showed their disagreement with this software. Their reasoning boiled down to the fact that the device was their device and did not want my team to have this power.
Elaboration
When tasked with this, there usually comes a point where individuals react as if I’m being hostile to them and that I (or our department) don’t have the right to do that. What I want to explain is the reason why most of these employees are wrong. Usually, once an employee is onboarded to a company, they are assigned a device to use for work. The keyword is assigned. For the most part, the company decides on what device you get. There are scenarios where the employee does get a say of what they need for equipment. Though this is irrelevant for one reason. The employee never bought the device so they have no ownership. This means the company has the right to take the device away, put whatever they want on it, and do so as they please (without getting carried away of course).
I believe people get defensive because they somehow become attached to the device. Some people don’t have their personal devices or maybe they like the one that the company provided. The next thing you know you not only company data but personal data. The other reason is the security that they are always being watched or the ability to wipe things makes people uneasy.
Personal Data & Projects
Example 1: There was a situation where a person’s computer was malfunctioning. I was obligated to find a solution. Given the age of the machine, I had to get the individual a new computer and transfer old data. When explaining this process, the user mentioned making sure my wedding photos were transferred over. I was a little shocked as in my mind, it’s a horrible decision. I will mention, that I’m not obligated to do this as my job to make sure the company data is intact not personal data. I ended up moving everything, but I talked to the user saying for your safety of data, please remove this off the device explaining what IT is and isn’t responsible for. She did thank me and did that thankfully.
Example 2: I was working with another user where I noticed something that could be troubling. This employee was having issues and I was helping him at his desk. We were just talking and it turns out he was really into art. So much so, he did side projects
What makes this troubling is he is using the licensed software bought by the company on, again, a company-issued device. Now, in my opinion, using this software isn’t a big deal to me. What I will also say is every company is different and enforces to their standard. Some might say you can only use it for work and some might not care as long as it doesn’t interfere with work. The issue for me was these projects were stored on the device. Which means if he didn’t take it off, the company could claim ownership of it. I did mention this to the individual and I hope they acted accordingly.
Security and Surveillance
I will say this, there are cases where just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. With the work from home movement underway, there has been chatter amongst the industry of companies finding ways to monitor employees. There is software where companies can oversee what employees are doing and allows more micromanagement(great example video here).
In my opinion, the company has the right to put the software on the machines that they own. If I were to find out about this with a company I work for, I would seek another job. It’s a slippery slope as far as privacy and I think it’s a waste of time for a company to constantly have management look at every second of what their peers are doing. You can use that time to actually accomplish business objectives. That is a separate topic though and the software we were using doesn’t go to those lengths.
Takeaway
Here are some key tips I think help mitigate this. It may not necessarily be what you want to hear, but it will surely help to avoid this issue I see more often than not.
Buy your equipment: As far as data, buying a decent sized flash drive that can easily help store your data. For computers, save enough money and buy the computer you want. I know for some it might be difficult with expenses and all, but this is an investment in yourself as these devices can be used for entertainment and productivity. Trust me, it will make things easier.
Don’t buy accessories for company hardware: This is more a word of caution. If you need accessories for your device (mouse, docking station, etc.), ask the company for it first. If they say no, just realize that depending on what you buy, it could be useless to you if the device gets taken away. If you’ve set your mind of buying accessories, at least buy ones that are usable for many if not most devices. I’ve been in cases where employees buy accessories that are specific to that computer and then leave. I imagine they think later on how ridiculous they feel for wasting money on accessories that can only be used for the device given to them by the company.
Don’t be attached: The best way to describe this is to be in the mindset that you’re going to leave the company tomorrow. If you were to think about that, how many things would you have to do to fully remove yourself from the company? If you have entanglements with the company, you’re most likely going to be frustrated and distraught over the outcome. Companies aren’t liable for your data so why should put in their hands