DH's company has made it quite clear that all e-mail and internet activity is monitored. People have gotten fired. For that reason, I'm very careful and never send jokes or anything that may be deemed inappropriate to a work place e-mail addy.


Reader's Digest: Is Your Boss Spying On You?

By Crystal915 on Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 04:02 pm:

We have a Quality Analysis program that records everything done on the phones and computers the agents use at work, most of the managers computers are not monitored, but I'm still very weary of anything not work related. I've had to fire people for the stuff they were doing on the computer, and it drives me insane because they all sign papers acknowledging the monitoring, and proper use of systems. What a stupid reason to lose your job...

By Trina~moderator on Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 04:17 pm:

What's stupid is when people lose their jobs doing such things AFTER they have been informed of the monitoring and possible consequences. LOL!

An excerpt taken from the article...

"Bloggers, too, are learning they have little protection for what they say about employers on personal websites. Freedom of speech doesn’t ensure job security. And some are finding that online activity can damage a career before it begins. Stacy Snyder was working toward a bachelor of science in education and a teaching certificate from Millersville University in Pennsylvania. Her supervising teacher at the high school where she was doing in-class training says Snyder was inviting students to visit her MySpace page. Among the contents: a photo of Snyder wearing a pirate hat and holding a plastic cup. A caption read “Drunken Pirate.”

High school officials called Snyder’s MySpace activity inappropriate and unprofessional. Subsequently, she says, she had to forfeit the teaching certificate and switch to a bachelor of arts degree. She has sued Millersville for what she says is unfair punishment; the university refutes her claims. In any case, her teaching career may be over already."

Bottom line, we wary of ANYTHING you put out there about yourself. We didn't have e-mail or the internet when I was in college earning my teaching degree, but I was still very careful because I knew anything negative on my record could jeopardize my career.

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 05:59 pm:

My blog mostly talks about the weather! LOL!

By Yjja123 on Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 06:25 pm:

Isn't this common sense? I honestly do not understand why people send/receive personal email from their work.
I have several friends that email me from work. I do not understand why they do that. It is wasting company time and is unprofessional.
I always email my response to their personal email addresses.

By Yjja123 on Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 06:30 pm:

As far as myspace goes, I am not sure that is fair (to forfeit the teaching certificate). It seems extreme for a picture.
I do think that when you post something you should ask yourself if you are comfortable having anyone/everyone see it. It is like taking a front page ad out in a newspaper. If you are not that comfortable with what you are saying (example: complaining about work) do not put it out where everyone can read it.

By Ginny~moderator on Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 06:40 pm:

Maybe it is a bit stiff to fire a budding teacher AND bar her from the teaching profession for a picture, but the article says she was inviting her students to visit her MySpace page. For a teacher to be seen as approving of drunkenness is hardly appropriate.

Yes, everyone should realize from the get-go that nothing you do on the internet is private. I know for a fact that my firm still has on the storage serve the email account of an attorney who left in March, and heaven knows how far back it goes. The only personal email I get at work is if my dil sends photos, because I have a modem at home and DSL at work and asked her to. Otherwise, sometimes I access my personal e-mail from work but I read it on the website and don't download it.

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 09:17 pm:

I don't have access to my personal email, at work. Sometimes I just need to communicate with Gary about a family matter. It's brief and over with, within about 30 seconds.

My webmail sites are blocked, so I can't use personal email at all.

By Crystal915 on Sunday, August 26, 2007 - 09:31 pm:

There have been more than a couple bloggers fired for their blogs, Dooce and The Sarcastic Journalist are two of the big names. I can access my email and blogs, as well as Facebook, but not Myspace, from work. I have my boss on my friends list, as well as an old boss, and quite a few co-workers, but we keep it separate from work.