I have to share this

[Voboy]

No it ain't. The book AND purse belong to the school marm, as does her lunch break, so I agree with that part. I agree the kid should have the right to read or write whatever he wants, on his computer, on his own time. BUT the computer belongs to the kid's employer. Since the computer is the company's property, they have the ultimate say on what and what can't be downloaded to it. Big difference.


Comshaw

I can see that argument.

But there's no indication the employee downloaded anything untoward. This was a Word doc. As far as we know, he was typing a document, like any other document. The computer was not "tainted" somehow. If he'd been browsing porn for inspiration, then sure; that'd be a problem, but if that's what he'd been doing? I bet IT would have found that, and HR would have mentioned it to the OP.

I don't doubt it violates his company's AUP. I do doubt that it's "concerning" that he's doing this at work.

My guess is that if IT had found him writing a novel about airplanes or mountain climbing or whatever, they'd not have bothered reaching out to HR. But the "offense" would have been the same: using the work computer for personal creative writing.

 

[HordHolm]

I can see that argument.

But there's no indication the employee downloaded anything untoward. This was a Word doc. As far as we know, was typing a document, like any other document. The computer was not "tainted" somehow. If he'd been browsing porn for inspiration, then sure; that'd be a problem, but if that's what he'd been doing? I bet IT would have found that, and HR would have mentioned it to the OP.

I don't doubt it violates his company's AUP. I do doubt that it's "concerning" that he's doing this at work.

Where it might be a problem is if he's working away on his Word doc in an open plan with other staff members who might see exactly what he's doing. And even if it might not be obvious that another member of staff might see what he's working on, the fact they might could lead to the employer being exposed to some difficult questions. They might simply prefer not to take the risk, and given they have to cover their arses, I understand their reaction.

 

[Voboy]

Where it might be a problem is if he's working away on his Word doc in an open plan with other staff members who might see exactly what he's doing. And even if it might not be obvious that another member of staff might see what he's working on, the fact they might could lead to the employer being exposed to some difficult questions. They might simply prefer not to take the risk, and given they have to cover their arses, I understand their reaction.

I understand their reaction too.

I don't really understand why someone here thinks it's "concerning."

 

[Comshaw]

I can see that argument.

But there's no indication the employee downloaded anything untoward. This was a Word doc. As far as we know, he was typing a document, like any other document. The computer was not "tainted" somehow. If he'd been browsing porn for inspiration, then sure; that'd be a problem, but if that's what he'd been doing? I bet IT would have found that, and HR would have mentioned it to the OP.

I don't doubt it violates his company's AUP. I do doubt that it's "concerning" that he's doing this at work.

My guess is that if IT had found him writing a novel about airplanes or mountain climbing or whatever, they'd not have bothered reaching out to HR. But the "offense" would have been the same: using the work computer for personal creative writing.

It doesn't have to "taint" the computer. All it has to do is violate company policy. Most companies are going to take a dim view of having porn on a company computer. Whether it's visual or written matters not at all. Most companies have a puritanical view of such things. Because of that, I'm sure the ones in charge would view it as "concerning". Like it or not, their house or computer, their rules.

One can always fight the rules, but there are some hills worth dying on and others not so much. This is one of the not so much ones. Again, one of the things that needs be passed on and taught to the younger crowd, when and when not to draw a line in the sand.

Comshaw

 

[soflabbwlvr]

I had actually started a piece for this year's Workplace story event about a Lit.author who gets caught using a work computer to submit a story. I probably will not go back to it now.