Many of us have encountered that one office Karen who simply can’t just mind her own business. She’s up in everyone’s face, policing what they do as if her job depends on it. These creatures are difficult to deal with, and sometimes the best option is to ignore them. If you’re lucky, karma will eventually catch up and do its work.
That’s exactly what happened to one annoying Karen, whose real name happens to be Karen by the way… Her former colleague has told how this woman finally met her match, in the most ironic way possible. Karen unknowingly messed with the wrong person, and her policing era came to an abrupt end.
Karens in glass offices shouldn't throw stones...
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
That's the lesson one woman learned after "policing" the wrong person at work
Image credits: pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: TXquilter1
1-in-3 workers admit to cheating on their boss by misusing company tech
Image credits: unsplash (not the actual photo)
Using your company device to make money for someone else could be likened to cheating on your romantic partner. However, one in three workers surveyed in a recent poll admitted to doing so.
Cybersecurity company All About Cookies surveyed 1,000 American workers and asked them about their behaviors on company-issued devices. The aim? To discover how many employees are misusing company tech.
1 in 3 employees said they use company tech to apply for jobs, interview, or do work for other companies while on the clock. While 36% admitted to using company tech to work on side hustles and make extra money. 22%,(nearly 1 in 4) said they’ve used one company’s devices to do work for another company.
"While any unauthorized use is unadvised, we also realize some segments of employees will treat their work-issued tech like personal devices, which means their personal browsing behavior might follow," notes All About Cookies. "When it comes to adult websites, a whopping 22% of employees admitted to viewing inappropriate or adult websites on company devices. This represents more than 1 in 4 workers."
Just under half of respondents said they streamed movies or TV shows on their company-issued devices, with 27% admitting to doing so on a weekly basis. A further 38% reported using company technology to play video games.
"The most common ways employees stay unproductive on company time include browsing social media (62%), online shopping (62%), and messaging co-workers and personal friends (60% and 59%, respectively)," adds the report.
More than one in five workers put their company at risk by sending intellectual property (IP) or other sensitive materials to a personal device on a weekly basis. Other bad habits respondents admitted to included not regularly keeping software up to date on their company-issued tech and downloading unauthorized software to their work computers.
Can you be fired for bagging bargains online while at work?
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When it comes to shopping online during working hours, many experts advise against it. "Everybody loves a bargain, but employees are expected to spend their working time fulfilling the responsibilities of their roles," warns Kate Palmer, HR advice and consultancy director at Peninsula. "Online – or any other kind of shopping – should not be done at work, except during designated break times."
Palmer adds that companies can take disciplinary action, in line with normal policies and procedures, when staff utilise their working time for personal purposes. The expert says that ideally, a manager should speak directly with an employee before formal action is taken.
However, if there's solid proof that the shopping happened during company time, employers have a right to go straight to formalities.
"If there is no reasonable explanation for the employee’s actions regarding internet consumption, an employer may have to go down the route of giving a formal or informal warning, depending on the facts," explains Palmer.
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