so the boss is spending their so short time reading employees emails, unbeknownst to them. i can't think of a sneakier, weaslier, more dishonourable, unethical, sleezy, orwellian, Bush-whitehouse-like, intrusive, abusive, wasteful, pointless, harmful, and evil action for an architect to perpetrate upon their employees. we of all people should be standing against this type of behaviour. it may be legal but it's shameful. i'm so sick to my stomach to learn this.
It's a waste of time. My last office did this, and while I would agree that an office has a right to screen for inappropriate language in emails, blatantly spending their time reading emails means that there's a breakdown in the system. I.e., Why are your employees writing emails that need to be read? Perhaps you are not using them in the most productive way? And how/why does a boss have time to do this? Doesn't he/she have something better to be doing with their time? Like, I don't know, running the place? Or getting new work?
I totally empathize atlas, and just remember, make your emails colorful since you have an audience now!
atlas, you take his money every time you get a paycheck from him. That's all I meant. On the other hand, if he's not paying you....
Anyway, after thinking about it I do agree that lb and WonderK have hit on it that any problem in that area could be better addressed from the other side of the equation (employing staff effectively). I just figure that any shenanigans or personal business conducted on office hours stands a reasonable chance of being found out at some point because it is their right to make sure you're doing appropriate things with company time.
whew, if my old boss did that, he'd realize we all knew about his addiction to gay porn and male for male ads on craigslist, since we constantly emailed back and forth about that during client meetings...
why the f use the office email account for personal purposes? Really, its just stupid to do that - what if the administrator deletes your account by mistake etc?
i feel you, i'd not feel comfortable in a place where my emails get monitored - but then again i dont care if anyone reads my email. If they peruse thru your personal email account, thats pretty screwed up.
This kind of behavior is based upon insecurity, the insecurity of your boss that is. Your boss is afraid of who he is, and is afraid of who you are. Funny how rampant insecurity is in the field of architecture. I don't know if the field attracts these losers or if it develops this behavior.
Most certainly, this insecurity does not represent the opposite in some kind of veiled aspect... it is deadly one sided.
That is all, but more is on it's way, believe me.
While it is true that employees have no legally supported expectation of privacy when using company owned equipment and networks, the recreational or routine monitoring of employee e-mail is not only unwise but probably an excruciatingly boring use of time.
Nevertheless, there are instances (albeit rare) when an employer has both a legal and a moral obligation to determine how company resources are being used. These instances arise when there is a serious allegation by an employee or a client that the electronic systems are being used in an inappropriate manner -- say, for the purposes of sexual harassment, leaking of proprietary information, etc. In such cases, an employer could be found negligent for failing to determine how the systems are being used and for failing to provide a safe and secure work place.
FYI ... I'm resonably sure that using a g-mail or yahoo e-mail account at your workplace will not provide you any meaningful protection if your employer must conduct a serious investigation. Perhaps someone here with a better legal background than mine can wade in on that aspect of this issue.
These two articles provide a balanced and informative treatment of some of the issues in this area of law and practice:
SOD has it right....you should always keep your work email separate from personal stuff. Never put anything in there that you wouldn't want the whole office knowing - if only because the IT security in many offices is terrible.
I like Poczatek's solution. the from field in an email is easy to spoof - just make if from the top firm in the area.
on the subject of emails, a friend typed an email explaining to a co-worker how the contractor was being a right pain in the arse, and used the phrase 'idiot builder', she sent it and then realised she had hit reply on one of his emails.
I've seen a few articles that indicate that over 70% of US employers say that they monitor employee emails and internet use.
For awhile I worked for one of the largest US architecture firms, and their IT people not only monitor email and kept logs of all the sites everyone visited, but they have software that took periodic snapshots of each employee's screen all day long and sent them to a folder. They would issue written warnings, or occasionally have meetings with people who were deemed to be spending too much time surfing, or accessing inappropriate material. A woman who sat near me got called for one of these meetings, and she denied that she was doing anything wrong, and the IT guy handed her a folder of screen snapshots showing games, websites, personal emails, etc., all time and date stamped.
That firm frequently uses "excessive or inappropriate internet use" as the official reason when they want to fire someone. (It's an easily-documented reason, it doesn't really leave any room for charges of discrimination or unfair employment practices or unclear expectations, and since the monitoring policy is spelled out in the employee handbook nobody can argue that they weren't aware of it.)
i just finished a security layout for a top government security office (take a guess) they have cameras in every room. offices, workrooms, everywhere. you're taped from the minute you get to work until you leave.
geez.
As far fetched as it sounds, a good percent of employers monitor employee web surfing and email activities. There is a lot of software out there that can monitor keystrokes (yes keystrokes), email, instant messaging, website surfing; heck they can monitor every darn document you open and close. But it's the employers responsibility to disclose this information to the employee as well as to disclose why they are doing it. A few reasons why employers do it is to reduce employee misbehaviour; make sure competitive information is not leaked, and to reduce liability risks. Of course many employees think monitoring software infringes on their privacy rights.
Why do people use their work email to send personal email anyways? I never use my work email for sending or receiving personal emails... It's unprofessional and if i quit, people might still be emailing me there. That's what Gmail is for! I don't use the company computer to check my email either. the reason being is that I don't delete my browsing history. If my supervisor or some IT guy comes in and wants to see what I'm looking at, that's fine by me. By deleting my browsing history, that will only make them dig deeper. I have a laptop if I really need to look at something that's not work-appropriate, such as kittenwar.
Besides, my boss pays me to work, not chat with my friends or post on archinect. wink wink. Aren't y'all too busy working to be socializing at work anyways?
what my work COULD use is a beer cooler though. Beer helps us be more productive. Not personal emails.
Yup, pretty simple. Don't use work's email for things unrelated to work. I am always amazed at what people will send without thinking - those files are on your office's servers and can easily be scanned or saved.
Now, what everyone really has to worry about is keyloggers that will record everything you type.
Imagine if they recorded what you typed, then searched it for the www.archinect.com!!
i second a beer cooler. I was allowed to drink in the office in china (I only drank a couple of times after 5). I don't know if i could even attempt such a thing here.
big brother boss examining employee emails
so the boss is spending their so short time reading employees emails, unbeknownst to them. i can't think of a sneakier, weaslier, more dishonourable, unethical, sleezy, orwellian, Bush-whitehouse-like, intrusive, abusive, wasteful, pointless, harmful, and evil action for an architect to perpetrate upon their employees. we of all people should be standing against this type of behaviour. it may be legal but it's shameful. i'm so sick to my stomach to learn this.
sucks balls man, I would like to think i'd have the chutzpah to tell him to eat a dick. (no offense to any gay folks who may read this)
I agree that it's just wasteful. They should instead spend their time making the workplace one that inspires loyalty from happy employees.
on the other hand, are you the jerk for taking his money while spending your time on other things?
I know, I did it too, but the fact is that they have every right to check whether they are getting their money's worth.
everyone exerts extremely effectively.
we work very hard, noone is taking his money. noone is playing.
It's a waste of time. My last office did this, and while I would agree that an office has a right to screen for inappropriate language in emails, blatantly spending their time reading emails means that there's a breakdown in the system. I.e., Why are your employees writing emails that need to be read? Perhaps you are not using them in the most productive way? And how/why does a boss have time to do this? Doesn't he/she have something better to be doing with their time? Like, I don't know, running the place? Or getting new work?
I totally empathize atlas, and just remember, make your emails colorful since you have an audience now!
atlas, you take his money every time you get a paycheck from him. That's all I meant. On the other hand, if he's not paying you....
Anyway, after thinking about it I do agree that lb and WonderK have hit on it that any problem in that area could be better addressed from the other side of the equation (employing staff effectively). I just figure that any shenanigans or personal business conducted on office hours stands a reasonable chance of being found out at some point because it is their right to make sure you're doing appropriate things with company time.
can always use the morse code system with a decoder then morse code it again just to toss him/her off...
or just get a hotmail account..
der
Just encode your meggages. Or send him this:
http://www2.b3ta.com/top-10-cutest-kittens/the-boss-is-a-cunt.swf
(NSFW due to swearing)
Once again...don't open that link in work!
No really. Don't.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
What if i'm gettin paid 2.50 an hour, can I still surf the 'nect?
whew, if my old boss did that, he'd realize we all knew about his addiction to gay porn and male for male ads on craigslist, since we constantly emailed back and forth about that during client meetings...
why the f use the office email account for personal purposes? Really, its just stupid to do that - what if the administrator deletes your account by mistake etc?
i feel you, i'd not feel comfortable in a place where my emails get monitored - but then again i dont care if anyone reads my email. If they peruse thru your personal email account, thats pretty screwed up.
"What if i'm gettin paid 2.50 an hour, can I still surf the 'nect?"
in that case, apurimac, please keep surfing the 'nect, but mainly the 'jobs' area!
so, atlas, there must be SOME reason. did somebody say something inappropriate to a client?
an employer wouldn't read company emails for fun. how boring would that be? can you imagine?
I see a lot of opportunities to write things that would totally screw with your boss' head - just have to do it in a way that won't get you fired.
This kind of behavior is based upon insecurity, the insecurity of your boss that is. Your boss is afraid of who he is, and is afraid of who you are. Funny how rampant insecurity is in the field of architecture. I don't know if the field attracts these losers or if it develops this behavior.
Most certainly, this insecurity does not represent the opposite in some kind of veiled aspect... it is deadly one sided.
That is all, but more is on it's way, believe me.
Send yourself phony job offers for more than you currently make.
While it is true that employees have no legally supported expectation of privacy when using company owned equipment and networks, the recreational or routine monitoring of employee e-mail is not only unwise but probably an excruciatingly boring use of time.
Nevertheless, there are instances (albeit rare) when an employer has both a legal and a moral obligation to determine how company resources are being used. These instances arise when there is a serious allegation by an employee or a client that the electronic systems are being used in an inappropriate manner -- say, for the purposes of sexual harassment, leaking of proprietary information, etc. In such cases, an employer could be found negligent for failing to determine how the systems are being used and for failing to provide a safe and secure work place.
FYI ... I'm resonably sure that using a g-mail or yahoo e-mail account at your workplace will not provide you any meaningful protection if your employer must conduct a serious investigation. Perhaps someone here with a better legal background than mine can wade in on that aspect of this issue.
These two articles provide a balanced and informative treatment of some of the issues in this area of law and practice:
Monitoring Employee E-mail: Efficient Worksplaces VS. Employee Privacy
Monitoring employees: Eyes in the workplace
SOD has it right....you should always keep your work email separate from personal stuff. Never put anything in there that you wouldn't want the whole office knowing - if only because the IT security in many offices is terrible.
I like Poczatek's solution. the from field in an email is easy to spoof - just make if from the top firm in the area.
on the subject of emails, a friend typed an email explaining to a co-worker how the contractor was being a right pain in the arse, and used the phrase 'idiot builder', she sent it and then realised she had hit reply on one of his emails.
I've seen a few articles that indicate that over 70% of US employers say that they monitor employee emails and internet use.
For awhile I worked for one of the largest US architecture firms, and their IT people not only monitor email and kept logs of all the sites everyone visited, but they have software that took periodic snapshots of each employee's screen all day long and sent them to a folder. They would issue written warnings, or occasionally have meetings with people who were deemed to be spending too much time surfing, or accessing inappropriate material. A woman who sat near me got called for one of these meetings, and she denied that she was doing anything wrong, and the IT guy handed her a folder of screen snapshots showing games, websites, personal emails, etc., all time and date stamped.
That firm frequently uses "excessive or inappropriate internet use" as the official reason when they want to fire someone. (It's an easily-documented reason, it doesn't really leave any room for charges of discrimination or unfair employment practices or unclear expectations, and since the monitoring policy is spelled out in the employee handbook nobody can argue that they weren't aware of it.)
That's still not as bad as CC cams in cubicles
i just finished a security layout for a top government security office (take a guess) they have cameras in every room. offices, workrooms, everywhere. you're taped from the minute you get to work until you leave.
geez.
Who's watching the watchers?
oldenvirginia
-HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA........that was some good stuff...I didnt read the rest of your post
"just encode your meggages. Or send him this:
http://www2.b3ta.com/top-10-cutest-kittens/the-boss-is-a-cunt.swf
(NSFW due to swearing)
Once again...don't open that link in work!
No really. Don't.
Don't say I didn't warn you."
I opened at work and the boss walked by...good thing he has a sense of humor...we all got a good laugh!!!
As far fetched as it sounds, a good percent of employers monitor employee web surfing and email activities. There is a lot of software out there that can monitor keystrokes (yes keystrokes), email, instant messaging, website surfing; heck they can monitor every darn document you open and close. But it's the employers responsibility to disclose this information to the employee as well as to disclose why they are doing it. A few reasons why employers do it is to reduce employee misbehaviour; make sure competitive information is not leaked, and to reduce liability risks. Of course many employees think monitoring software infringes on their privacy rights.
treat you're people like that, don't be surprised if you get little out of them.
exactly...it would certainly bringing down the morale at your workplace…I've known folks to quit b/c of it...
Why do people use their work email to send personal email anyways? I never use my work email for sending or receiving personal emails... It's unprofessional and if i quit, people might still be emailing me there. That's what Gmail is for! I don't use the company computer to check my email either. the reason being is that I don't delete my browsing history. If my supervisor or some IT guy comes in and wants to see what I'm looking at, that's fine by me. By deleting my browsing history, that will only make them dig deeper. I have a laptop if I really need to look at something that's not work-appropriate, such as kittenwar.
Besides, my boss pays me to work, not chat with my friends or post on archinect. wink wink. Aren't y'all too busy working to be socializing at work anyways?
what my work COULD use is a beer cooler though. Beer helps us be more productive. Not personal emails.
Yup, pretty simple. Don't use work's email for things unrelated to work. I am always amazed at what people will send without thinking - those files are on your office's servers and can easily be scanned or saved.
Now, what everyone really has to worry about is keyloggers that will record everything you type.
Imagine if they recorded what you typed, then searched it for the www.archinect.com!!
i second a beer cooler. I was allowed to drink in the office in china (I only drank a couple of times after 5). I don't know if i could even attempt such a thing here.
Well, they should stop reading emails and just fire Noone. Damn you Noone.
noone causes a lot of trouble around the office. he's always doing things he shouldn't be and pretending that it didn't happen.
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