Is it okay to use office technology for personal stuff? (sales, work)

[a worker]

I am sure that all of us few times a day are checking personal emails, doing some personal calls and searching few sites that are not allowed to use by the company's policy.

But again, some of us when at home tend to log in to company's network and work.

So here is the question, is it ok to do personal stuff while on payclock? Is it ok to work after you punched out?

[bassholic]

not ok

[smokingGun]

nope... just get your own laptop and bring it to work. Most larger companies log what sites you visit and do automated searches for xrated sites & even entertainment like youtube & hulu. In this economic climate you don't want to give your managers any excuse to let you go.

[macroy]

Originally Posted by smokingGun

nope... just get your own laptop and bring it to work. Most larger companies log what sites you visit and do automated searches for xrated sites & even entertainment like youtube & hulu. In this economic climate you don't want to give your managers any excuse to let you go.

If you plug that personal laptop to the company's network, its still using their resources.... and they can still see where you go. And that in itself can be a IT violation (you could introduce malicious code or steal information).

Bottom line - read the company's policy. Most will allow for "occasional" use for personal matters. But most will prohibit personal business (as in sending out mass emails to your Tupperware party or filling orders for your Avon sales). I think most understand that you will need to tend to personal matters at work - what they're trying to curb is the abuse of business resources.

And there may be two policies - your HR policy as well as your IT or Information Security policy. If they contradict each other, bring that up to your HR partner.

[W James III]

No, on your time you do anything you want, on company time you do what they want and go by the rules.

If they let you, then great

[Lacerta]

I have a slightly different answer. It depends what you do and what your agreement is with your boss.

At my job, I get no breaks during the day other than a lunch break. So if I occasionally need to make a personal call or check on something online at work during a slow time, my boss is totally fine with that. The fact that I work for my parents is, of course, also a contributing factor there. Because its mom and dad's company, I also am allowed to use the fax machine, copy machine and scanner if needed for personal use. Yay for family businesses.

[Dub D]

Its not ok but everyone does it. I mean, if you need to fax something important are you really going to drive to Kinko's during your break or wait til you get home?