How to cope with bad work situation?

The company can even read your emails and could be using key stroke loggers. I've never seen anyone get in trouble for the stuff they do with their work computer, but

I've seen the stuff they do on their computer used as supporting evidence when management wants to get rid of someone.

Sort of like, "we don't like that guy, lets call IT and see if he was doing anything bad on his PC."
 
Grousing about an incompetent manager wouldn't be an issue because to make it one management would be exposing themselves.

Business purpose or not... close call but that would force them to put the content on the table... more risk for them than the employee.

The only risk is trust.

The incidents with which I am familiar involve shopping on line and porno stuff.
 
No doubt access is well monitored. Funny, though: I and my fellow employees are subject to strict prohibitions about ownership of certain types of securities and they do not monitor our brokerage accounts. All that is required is an annual ethics certification.
 
Bimmerbill said:
Sort of like, "we don't like that guy, lets call IT and see if he was doing anything bad on his PC."
Click to expand...
I think the issue is that OP has "security through obscurity" on his side-- it's hard to claim that it's time to enforce the rules when there's already a long list of people violating them.

Even better, OP's "inappropriate e-mail" and posts are documenting malfeasance & negligence of his superiors. What pointy-haired boss wants to have that subpoena'd or deposed into evidence to be splashed across the pages of the WSJ & Business Week? "He's making me look like an idiot, and here's all the evidence to support it!!!"
 
I consider this latest episode to be my get out of jail free card. I have no desire to be a whistleblower, but in a real sticky situation I think our ethics people would be highly interested in my recent meeting.
 
Nords said:
What pointy-haired boss wants to have that subpoena'd or deposed into evidence to be splashed across the pages of the WSJ & Business Week? "He's making me look like an idiot, and here's all the evidence to support it!!!"
Click to expand...

Hardly ever used in that context. But many organizations require their PHBs to maintain rankings of their direct reports on file with HR to be used for "deselection" should downsizing be required. When the decision to downsize is made, HR makes the deselection decisions based on the rankings that the PHB has on file. This gives the PHB the opportunity to say to everybody involved "I had no input to this -- it is entirely HR's decision." which is partially true and partially untrue. Posting unflattering comments about the PHB might get you to the wrong end of the list if the PHB knew about it.

My observation is these rankings are more subjective than objective. Brewer's ongoing posts seem to confirm there is a lot of subjectivity there.

For sure, it doesn't work like this everywhere, but you do see this stuff.

Almost every employer makes employees sign something acknowledging electronic monitoring, but hardly any of them will actually disclose the results of their monitoring, or even admit they are doing it. It almost feels like they don't want to remind people they are being watched so somebody might let down their guard and screw up.
 
At my megacorp the only time Internet usage was used in a termination was as one part of documented evidence that the employee was goofing off. The company policy is that "reasonable" use only of the internet, company phone etc for personal business was allowed. Very occasionally I would receive a report from HR about someone in my department making lots of long distance phone calls that were obviously non-business, and also if someone had been spending large amounts of time on social network, travel and shopping sites on the internet.

I remember one young lady in my department who was spending a lot of time on shopping sites and when I talked to her about it she just didn't believe it, so I got IT to produce a very detailed report showing the hours spent in prime work time from her actual PC (mac address). Our conversation was all very low key and once she realized how much time she was spending on shopping sites she tried to cut back, couldn't, so wisely decided to have herself removed from the internet access list.
 
brewer12345 said:
No doubt access is well monitored. Funny, though: I and my fellow employees are subject to strict prohibitions about ownership of certain types of securities and they do not monitor our brokerage accounts. All that is required is an annual ethics certification.
Click to expand...

That is really shocking. DW's investment bank employer is HUGE on proper account disclosure, and they track the heck out of employee trading. One thing they have is a 30 day min holding period. So I'm watching the ISM/OSM and arbing it once. Then two days later I arb it again the other way. Boom, within a few hours, my DW emails me "the email" from head of investment banking Operations, legal/compliance dept head, her boss's boss, etc. Over a trade that netted me $200-300 on a principal amount under $10,000. They made me reverse the trade by rebuying the shares I sold within 24 hours, else they would do it themselves and take any profits (with me eating the losses).

Funny that the type of work you are in for the govt doesn't have similarly strict disclosure and compliance requirements. Of course, DW's private employer can get sued and go bankrupt if there are even whispers of impropriety or claims of insider trading, hence the extremely beefed up, probably computerized/automated compliance department reviewing all trades that all employees and spouses make in real time.
 
Some people don't understand the level of monitoring that is possible, and how it is being used. My employer regularly fires employees for internet mis-use. The policies are posted, and the language favors big brother. When you have 100K+ employees, it is good practice to terminate one or two every so often, for effect. One was escorted out of my area this past week. Had quite an effect on the other mis-users, from what I saw.

The funny thing about this, is that the company is aware of exactly what an employee is doing. When a reason is produced to measure the stats, it is a matter of days before the proper logs are in order, and ka-boom. The hammer comes down. So, just because you've been doing something for a year does not mean you're home free.

Corporations are peculiar beasts.
 
In a former life I was the head of "IT Security". We kept records of all Internet access by Mega-Corp employees. We did nothing with them unless asked. Our job was to deal with things from the outside. If an employee was abusing his/her Internet access, it was a management problem, not a technical one, and therefore not our problem.

So, in our case, if you got busted for "excessive surfing" it was because someone thought you we "surfing excessively". As they say in the audit world "Trust, but verify".
 
Well, I was offered the new seat today. We are having a minor tussle over me not wanting to start from scratch on the promotion track after a year plus of doing above-grade work, but assuming I was appropriately diplomatic about it and did not make them feel like they are being shaken down, I have a new seat to move to. Hopefully this is better than out of the frying pan into the fire. I think it will be for the better.
 
Congrats. Tomorrow to fresh woods, and pastures new.
 
brewer12345 said:
Well, I was offered the new seat today. We are having a minor tussle over me not wanting to start from scratch on the promotion track after a year plus of doing above-grade work, but assuming I was appropriately diplomatic about it and did not make them feel like they are being shaken down, I have a new seat to move to. Hopefully this is better than out of the frying pan into the fire. I think it will be for the better.
Click to expand...

YES!!! This is great news, Brewer.
 
Good to hear. Hope it works out.
Can't get my smilie to work.

Unsolicited advice - don't dis the previous team
 
Under OPM rules the new manager may not have a lot of options. Listen carefully when s/he comes back to you. Maybe your personnel office can work with the both of you to figure out something that would meet your needs.
 
Brat said:
Under OPM rules the new manager may not have a lot of options. Listen carefully when s/he comes back to you. Maybe your personnel office can work with the both of you to figure out something that would meet your needs.
Click to expand...

I do not have to worry about OPM rules, as they do not apply. Having said that, very likely I am boned on this one. I felt that I would be doing a disservice to myself and all the blood, sweat and tears I have shed over the last year and change if I did not bring the issue up. Self respect aside, I expect I am boned and will have to live with it and move on. Since I am getting out of the ditch and moving to a spot I could live with for the next 3 to 5 years it will likely take me before I ESR, so be it.
 
Your mental and physical health is primary. If they won't give you what you want from the standpoint of compensation just start building a track record in your new job that works for you. Imagine what you want 5 years hence and whack a path to your goal.

Your experience may well be the foundation of a good book. Start keeping a diary.
 
Brat said:
Your mental and physical health is primary. If they won't give you what you want from the standpoint of compensation just start building a track record in your new job that works for you. Imagine what you want 5 years hence and whack a path to your goal.

Your experience may well be the foundation of a good book. Start keeping a diary.
Click to expand...

I would not be willing to ever do a book because i would probably be sued into dust by my present employer, plus I am a private person. "Get off my land!"

Realistically, I think we can financially get to where we want to be for ESR in 3 to 5 years, so I only need to find something I can stand for that long.
 
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