Bitchery readers Sarah, Cathleen, and Kristen all forwarded me this link from the great state of Iowa: an aspiring novelist was fired from her job for writing while at work. The Des Moines Register article has an excerpt of her “tawdry lust novel.” Surf shorts hugging asses… le sigh.
Fired for writing on the job? Oh, boy. Most of the time I’m pre-writing and post-dating just about everything so I don’t write when I’m not on my own computer. Alas, being a Smart Bitch is not my full-time job? Oh, how I wish, I wish, I wish upon any available man-titty. But no, I gots me a job. And the folks at my job, they are aware that I am Duchess of Cuntington, and they think my business cards of Bitcherdom are hilarious. I work for awesome people. But writing from work? Specifically, blogging? That is Bad Idea Jeans.
So, writing your novel from work? Also, Bad Idea Jeans. I’m not surprised that she was denied unemployment benefits. Unfortunately, writing, and specifically I am speaking of blogging, is not something that’s discussed in corporate policies of “personal use” of the company internet connection. Most bloggers are desk jockeys; it’s hard to be a blogger if you’re not actually at a computer or don’t have both hands free to type. So do people blog and do personal writing on company time on company machinery? Sure.
But what defines “personal use,” and what writing is ok, and what’s not? Because standards of “appropriate use” and “personal use” vary, each company defines it on their own. If a financial analyst keeps a personal blog detailing her opinions of market trends, and manages to generate good press for her employer as traffic to her site increases, is that personal use or unsanctioned but effective PR for her employer? Depends on whether the employer cares. If another employee is a huge movie buff, and keeps a site that reviews new releases, is it ok for that person to read comments, respond to them, or add new entries at work? Depends on whether the employer cares.
If one employee is using his computer to check his bank balance, pay bills online, or surf through political blogs, is that better or worse than another employee keeping an online community of abuse survivors running through Yahoo:groups? What’s personal? What’s appropriate? And for heaven’s sake, what are realistic expectations of what employees can and can’t do on their work computers? Personal banking ok, personal writing aspirations not ok? So far, the onus is on the employee to not be a dumdum, and one person’s common sense is another person’s not-so-much common sense. Everyone has a story about someone whose supervisor got busted printing out porn or conducting a torrid affair online.
While writing erotica on a work computer, or, in the case of the other person in the Register article, keeping a journal of how one avoids work, is most certainly a major case of DUH, defining personal use and appropriate use now that so much of people’s lives can be conducted online is an issue, one that continues to increase in importance as more people use computers to do their jobs, and find themselves with a free minute or two to get busy with their personal business. Just where the line of demarcation is regarding how far they can go to “get busy” in the name of “personal business” is something that needs greater attention and discussion.
I write at work … on my lunch. My bosses know what I write, they buy the books and read them. They don’t care if I write as long as it’s during my breaks. If I get my EDJ stuff done and nothing is slacking they couldn’t care less what I do on my lunch break.
That’s what gig sticks are for, so things don’t remain on company computers.
This is my favorite part of that article…
“She said she didn’t consider her fiction writing a violation of the company policy that prohibits personal use of the computer.
“I didn’t feel it was personal, because if somebody else read it, that’s fine,” she testified. “I guess I wasn’t concerned if somebody else saw it. It wasn’t personal to me.”“
I almost spewed my coffee at her definition of “personal use”, and doubt any company would define it that way.
What I found hilarious was that she got fired over writing a really bad romance that will never be published. She probably had the idea that she would hit it big with her ‘lust’ novel…that she could make more than enough money off of this lousy book than she ever could at the old job.
Ha, ha, ha!
This is proof that writing a romance ain’t no easy task. Seems simple, but then when you try it yourself…whoops! There actually *is* some talent and skill involved.
I drive a semi. It prevents me from abusing a work computer.
When I worked in a library, I would write, but by hand and on paper from the recycling box.
I did that too, at lunch and on breaks, but I did it in shorthand on a steno pad. Nobody else knew Pitman shorthand there, so for all they knew I was doing work.
But I wouldn’t take time away from my duties to do it: that’s not right.
Sadly, this reinforces the canard that romance novels are written by the not-very-bright.
I’ve been the person signing the paychecks, and the person receiving the paychecks. She shouldn’t have been doing personal stuff on work time, and she has no call to bitch about the logical consequences of her actions.
I’m pretty sure that I once read something that said Elmore Leonard got his start writing novels longhand with his hand in the drawer of desk – which proves, he knew that he shouldn’t have been doing his personal stuff at work.
It’s been a while since I had a day job but I’m thinking most places will put up with a certain amount of personal email and blog / news surfing but actually writing a novel on the job? Probably stepping over the line…
I worked for the same company doing accounting from 1989 to 2004 until I was laid off during a downsizing. I wrote at lunch either in the office or in one of the many food places in downtown Houston’s underground tunnels. I wrote the people I worked with into my books. They knew it and loved it.
When I was asked in 2006 if I was interested in coming back to work the front desk, I was told I could write all I wanted while sitting there. Full benefits, an entry level salary (yes, I climbed down the corporate ladder), and permission to write. It was the best 11 months ever – because at the end of July, I got laid off again, LOL!
Online banking at work? Have these people never heard of those spy programs that can monitor every keystroke on every computer in the company? ‘Cause I’ve worked in places that used them … and I certainly wouldn’t give my banking passwords out to the I.T. department.
Unfortunately, writing, and specifically I am speaking of blogging, is not something that’s discussed in corporate policies of “personal use†of the company internet connection.
Um I would take a quick look at your employee handbook. I know my Fortune 500 company does say a lot about what I can and cannot do in regards to blogging and political support.
I tell my boos if he does not want me doing personal stuff at work then quit asking to work during my off hours.
I’m salary and do 24/7 on call weeks every month or so, that shuts him right up there.
When I used to work at The Hellhole, we had an employee fired for running a porn website from his work computer. What’s funny, though, is that the Head Criminals in Charge knew about it and just kept asking him not to. What sent them over the edge and had him escorted out was the time he gave a disc with some work to another employee…and it had graphic pictures. WHOOPS! And he gave that to the ONE employee who would have (and did) call the Head Criminal in Charge and had him fired and escorted out.
SOOOOO glad I no longer work there.
I think they purposefully keep it flexible and/or nebulous because it gives them an out to make judgment calls in individual cases. Back when I was doing time at the cube farm, the “surfing” versus “legitimate work use” had a very fuzzy line. Half the time my personal use ended up teaching me skills I needed to increase my knowledge base at work, or put me in contact with people who could either send business our way or send skills my way.
The basic idea was that you could use the computer for personal stuff, as long as you a.) had all your work done, and b.) were discreet and didn’t abuse the privilege. We were in an industry where time was billed to clients, or absorbed as overhead by the company, and there was some inherent flexibility—if you didn’t have client work to do, then you worked on in-house tasks, and if there wasn’t anything to do in-house, then you sat there. But if surfing the internet kept you from bothering somebody who did have billable work, then hey, as long as you were playing discreetly, you were fine.
The line being as nebulous as it was, the PTB could issue either unofficial or official warnings, or take action as necessary depending on the person and the situation. People I worked with who were not problem children did get away with more than the people who were considered troublemakers, either performance wise or attitude wise…or in rare cases had made an enemy of a higher-up.
Ironically, it has not been unheard-of in certain IT circles to develop half-assed pr0n sites and slap them up, simply to test load capacities, connection speeds, and the like.
I work for the government. Blogging is specifically mentioned in our briefings. More than that, Soldiers and GS employees are supposed to notify their chain of command should they start a blog so the information put out can be monitored for Operational Security.
I have to admit, I’m one of those people who walk the line (and occasionally gleefully leap over it) in terms of personal use. I blatently violated that policy above at my last duty station based on the (nebulous, should I get caught) defense that I wrote about nothing work related. Towards the end of my time there I discovered that an IT person had “caught” me—when he told me how much he liked my blog and even asked why I wasn’t posting so much lately.
As for writing fiction on the job? Yeah, I do it. Not just on my breaks either. My position (again completely undefendable) is that they should give me more than 30 minutes of work a day. However I do so in spiral bound notebooks, and I’m relatively discreet. Does it make a difference? Probably not, if my supervisor didn’t like me.
Teddy Pig, larger companies do indeed set these things out, but the majority of employees in almost all Western countries work for small businesses that might not even have an employee handbook.
During the first day of employee orientation where I work the IT guys came in and basically said “Big Brother is alive and well and living here.” I would never write or do anything remotely personal on company computers. And yes, companies have strict usage guidelines because in the case of my company it’s more for security than anything else.
And another thing she probably never thought of (especially if she thinks “personal use” means “something she wanted to keep secret”) is that an employer could claim that anything you wrote during work hours belonged to them.
Shelton testified that her writing was a way of honing her job skills during slow periods at work.
Wow. That was a good try.
Oh, man Alison Kent, that sounds like a great job! I used to fantasize about working at one of those parking lot booths so I could sit there and write. When I did work in office cubicle situations, my computers were always high visibility to everyone who walked by, so I could never do anything fun.
Now I work from my home and if I waste time, I just don’t bill it. I’m way more productive. And sometimes a worker just needs to surf over and see what the Smart Bitches are up to. As both boss and employee, I get that.
The judge said she showed “wanton disregard for the standard of behavior the employer has the right to expect from an employee.”
I wish he had said she showed “steamy and wanton disregard and her employer yearned to know what to expect of her…if only she hadn’t been his employee!” From THE TEMPESTUOUS TEMP.
I found the description of her novel a tad disturbing.
Honestly, I know lots of people do it, but if you are drawing an hourly wage you are being paid for a specific job. Now, I have had employees on an hourly wage in the past, and my hubbie is a physician with three people on an hourly wage working for him. If any of them asked “can I write during down time?” we’d say sure, but if it becomes a distraction we’ll have to reverse that. And they’d have to ask first.
I know Ahmed’s personal assistant is also an RN and his office manager. She sounds busy, and usually is, but she’s VERY efficient. He lets her shop if it gets slow and recently put her on salary so she could leave early without worrying. His secondary employee is also a great and very efficient gal and she blogs at work, surfs the net, shops online in HIS office (secure connection) and has gotten massages on the clock.
If any of them did that without permission they would be missed… but not much… and would be looking for work tut suite.