Despite our work-from-anywhere ethos plenty of DFC’s newsletter readers work in regular-style office jobs and have a boss, and a Slack channel, and a kitchenette with a sink that SOMEONE always manages to leave their dirty lunch dishes in. (When I worked in an office, that someone was Nikki. Man, it feels GREAT to finally call her out on it!)
So a big wave hello to you who are reading this on your work laptop! And a warning: According to a recent rundown in the Wirecutter, there are all sorts of things that we shouldn’t be doing on our work tech, including our laptop, many of which don’t occur to the average employee.
We all know that certain risqué web searches are best confined to your own smartphone. But what about storing a wee completed tax form on your work computer? Or taking ten minutes to side-hustle a vintage clothing sale? Not so much, writes Thorin Klosowski. But how about popping all your personal stuff into G Suite — that has to be safe, right?
“[It’s] easy to think of G Suite, which includes services like Gmail, Google Docs, and Sheets, as private productivity software. But the Freedom of the Press Foundation notes several reasons why you shouldn’t use a company-issued Google account to store your private data. Administrative users with G Suite Enterprise can search for specific phrases in an employee’s emails and documents, just like you can in your own account. Employers can set up audits to be notified of suspicious behaviour and create custom scripts for retaining data.
For example, an employer could establish a process by which your email drafts are saved even if they’re never sent. If you’ve ever considered drafting a resignation email calling your boss a jerk, do so elsewhere.”
This festive season, when so many office rules fly out the window like St. Nick (Bailey’s next to the coffee machine, anyone?), consider Klosowski’s tips a gift to future you. Come January, when the drudge returns, they might be helpful to remember… For your own peace of mind, let alone your boss’s!