Is your company Big Brother?

[herulach]

You can sleep in thats how (i do it regularly, although i do have a nack of waking at exactly 07:00 when we start shift )

I was actually meaning when i'm in the office in Aberdeen, which is rarely and as little as possible these days

So the oil rig guess was right then? Bugger, would have been more fun if you were jane macdonald

[Funkstar]

I know Elmo thought i was female for a while () but i really am not Jane Macdonald - thank god

[herulach]

I know Elmo thought i was female for a while () but i really am not Jane Macdonald - thank god

THe lady do protest too much methinks.

[Mike Fishcake]

And this is where the argument against "if you're not doing anything wrong, you don't need to worry" is really illustrated!

[Nick F]

I work for a big publishing company that is really cool, break when we want etc. According to the IT T&C they do scan emails though.

Just moved desk as well so now I can browse the net and no one can see my screen

[scottyman]

working for a number of tv companies over the years - you see how they approach matters like e-mail, web access and the like - then partnering with large companies who own their own call-centres (travel, IT and the like)
their approach to security is completely useless - a lack of understanding (even by two different IT services companies) about how routers, ATM networks, email and the web actually work- and trying to enforce policies based upon completely flawed understanding is hilarious.
dealing with the auditors who came in to ensure that the network we supplied was meeting all of the client's requirements was even more amusing. their view was that because we shared a CAR (Central Apparatus Room) our policies over-rode those of our clients. We actually had to carry out a phyical intrusion test, which all our clients failed (due to unsecured links into to their head office) - and somewhat amusingly we passed.

Contractually, our client's own IS/IT staff couldn't carry out reviews of staff e-mail/documents for security reasons - so this was something that fell to me, despite them being clients. I had the right (and the responsiblity) to check everyone's e-mail on a monthly basis, and it involved being sensible - not reporting rubbish willy-nilly.
As the IS guy working for a client found out - you DO NOT under any circumstances log the fact that the client's MD is having an affair, and is not being discrete about it.
Fine - it says to log any usual behaviour - but when the auditors have to review this along with the board of directors - it makes you look like a silly ummm... sausage.
I couldn't (and wouldn't) work for a company like that. I've even turned down work because I thought their infrastructure sucked.

[wilsonian]

Company X i worked for had a very HIGH turn over of staff.

If you pay peanuts you get monkeys. clear and simple.

The company operates on a very small mark up, which means costs for imprioving customer relationship is poor and barely there. staff are shouted by customers and half the time i want to side with the customer because half the time there right. for example routers - once you've bought it from them they didn't want to know about it. if it's got a fault you go back to the manufacture - problem is they'll say return the POP (point of purchase) while we're having to say to the customer "go away".

All because of costs. it costs to have more staff, posting faulty goods out, getting staff in to arrange this etc. all should have been looked at when creating the company but instead they operate on a knife edge. very low budgets etc. all so the owner can have a land rover vouge with 24" alloys costing him £65k!

Funny i mention the above about the car. it was january and everyone had been told your getting a X% pay raise etc. then the owner (who is the MD as well) turned around and cancelled them, only to go out and buy this new car!

Managers are told to imply rules which to be frank sound like it's the SS not company X!

[RedPutty]

The company I work at is not as bad as the thread starter's however they try their absolute hardest to be petty and controlling, they just arent even very good at that.

We also had budget cutbacks while the boss and his brother bought new cars! They are insisting the Software Dev department has to be cut back.

And they are clueless about security, both their network and the products they make.

The IT director knows a few terms and uses them wrongly just to prove what an idiot he is.

Is there a pattern forming here?

[Workaholic]

I work in Retail, and like wilsonian need to be in early and finish late each day, UNPAID. Usually 15-20 minutes early and at least 5 minutes after trying to get the customers out, who prefer to come into the shop just before we shut.
Quite a lot of the days, we may get asked to come in early, but the keyholder comes in late so we don't get paid for the time we came in early waiting for the doors to be opened.
A few times I've been in half an hour earlier than anyone else, but is there any proof - NO. the CCTV cameras aren't outside the building (unlike the old shop, of which the ceiling *fell* down on us whilst working and we continued working, serving the general public who kept coming in!!!)

Added together a year this comes to a lot of money, but the reason I've been in the job for the last few years is that I don't want a CV showing that I've been hopping into different jobs (and also because I slightly like it.)

A bad thing though is clocking in is done electronically and it's easy to forget. There are threats of using these clocking in/out times to calculate pay, but if we forget - we won't get paid at all.

Lunch is a nightmare - there's always the one customer who decides to stop you going as you're walking to the kitchen/back, even though you've not been spoken to all day. Our manager only allows ONE AT A TIME on breaks and lunch, so it always gets put back (and everyone hates you for delaying lunch.) A note on this, during a recent shift of just 6 hours I put my name on the wrong list (day before's which only had two names (with 8 staff working) on when I came in) and when I realised the mistake all breaks / lunches were taken up so I finished slightly early, again losing a bit of my time as customers decided to stop me.

All in all, for those without a job, don't go for Retail, get a office job.

[badass]

MY company implememts a policy that monitors about bugger all. The only email monitoring is anti virus/spam software and the only thing monitoring web access is the real time AV scanner.
People work very hard there and get rewarded well for it. Anyone that does not pull their weight is sacked.
The only way someone's activity is monitored is if we are specifically asked to so evidence can be collected in order to get rid.