Before the widespread use of the internet, it would have been nearly impossible for someone to steal thousands of highly confidential documents containing government secrets and make them easy for anyone across the globe to have a look at. But, with the current scandal about Wikileaks taking up so much of the media's attention, it becomes clear that we are living a new era.
Almost everything is available online these days. Your bank account, your office and even your medical records. Everything is saved and recorded somewhere. This makes it even more important for people to be careful what information they put in emails, on Facebook, Twitter and their own websites. If you don't pay attention to this, you can risk embarrassment, your job, your relationships and even face legal troubles.
So here are the top 5 things you should not do online at work:
- Discuss illegal hobbies – Companies typically have policies that require them to archive and save all email sent and received by their servers. So, even if you think that you are being careful by using code words, you aren't nearly as smart as you think. It is very easy for government organizations to subpena your work email records, in fact, it is much easier to get them from your employer than it is to get them from your home computer. So, if you want to have these sorts of conversations, do it from home or better yet, save it for face to face conversations.
- Don't forward company secrets – When you are angry at your employer, there is often the desire to “get back” at them. This drive for payback can make even reasonably sane people do some pretty stupid things. Don't forward company documents, client lists or business secrets. As an employee, you are trusted to keep this information safe. Not only will this sort of activity give your professional reputation a huge hit, it may even cause you a great deal of legal trouble.
- Be careful when you hit “send” - If someone sends an email to a group of people, including yourself, don't hit “reply all” unless you want everyone in the group to see your reply. Always take a few minutes to proofread your email, check for typos, be sure that it is addressed to the correct person before you hit send. Too many people have quickly sent an email to the wrong person or to an entire groups when they really, really didn't want that person to see the contents. This can cause minor embarrassment if you are lucky, and career suicide if you aren't. So, be careful.
- Don't talk about your company on social networking site – Twitter and Facebook are the most common places for people to vent online. Don't complain about your job or post insider information online. Many companies haven't sorted out what their official policy is in regards to these sites, but there are new stories everyday about people who have been fired because of things they said online. There is a time and a place for complaining and expressing your opinions. On the internet, using an account that is clearly associated with your name isn't one of those places.
- Don't send threatening or off-color information – Most companies have software that scans and monitors all the email and other messages that are sent from their computers. So, sending threatening emails or even emails that contain off-color jokes, discriminatory language and images is a huge no-no. A good rule is that if you don't want your kids, your parents, your boss or the whole world to see the information, then don't send it at work.
Bonus-
- Don't use your company email to look for a new job – This should be obvious, but it isn't. Don't send out resumes from your work email, or even your personal email on company time. It is easy for your boss to find out about your job search and to get fired before you find a new job. Not only that, but it looks bad to a potential employer. Using company time and resources to conduct your job search is basically theft. In a new employer's eyes, it stands to reason that if you would do it to your current employer, you would do it at a new job. So, do your job hunting from your home computer.
Sitting in a cubicle, at a desk, in front of a computer can lull us into a false sense of privacy. No one is around to see what you are doing, so it feels private. It isn't. And, we all know that rationally, but even the best of us fall victim to these mistakes. So, be careful.
Are you looking for a job in Customer Service? Be sure to take a look at CSJobs.
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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