My boss discovered my personal website!

[COMINATCHA]

Hey peoples

I know I don’t come here very much and join in with all your stories, so I’m sorry about that…I do come on and read but don’t have a lot of time to write – I’m too busy, supposed to be working, hehe.

Anyway, I had something happen last week that has been really bothering me and I would like to know what you guys think!


Firstly, you need to know that I have an msn space. Much like a MySpace where you can share your photos and stuff but it’s a little different. Some of you may have seen it, I’m not sure. Anyway, it has a lot of photos of me and my friends on it.

So it started when at work on Friday, my boss’s boss (a 50 year old married guy with 4 kids) called me into his office for a ‘chat.’ That’s never a good thing aye! So I go in there a bit unsure what’s going on, as he doesn’t normally need to talk to me about work stuff – my boss is always there when I need him.

He asks me to take a seat and hands me a piece of paper. I look at it and see that it has my website address typed on in and nothing else. I’m confused. I think maybe I’m going to get in trouble for sometimes going on the internet during work time? I know that they keep track of every website you go to, and I did go on my website a week ago to update a couple of things.

I ask him what’s going on, and he proceeds to tell me that he was approached by someone who works in our company who had discovered my website. Apparently they are concerned about me because of the content of the site.
I was like “What? What’s wrong with it? Concerned about what?”

He then got up and went over to his computer and when the screen saver went away I saw he had a whole page of different photos of me that he’d copied and pasted. They were the ones of me in bathers, me in my bra just being silly, a couple of me just being a poser, and a couple of me with workmates. I take those kind of photos all the time, as do a lot of my friends, it’s a normal thing we do. He said that I need to delete any photos that contain people from the company, and that he strongly suggests deleting the photos that are “very inappropriate.”

I can understand deleting photos of co-workers, as I never thought anyone would get upset about it. So I deleted those while he stood behind me and watched. But as for the rest – what’s that got to do with him? It doesn’t affect my job, I’m not doing anything illegal, so what the hell? They are good photos, I look good so I’m not getting rid of them because someone who works in the same company decided to stick their nose into my business.

He was making such a big deal about it, and I’m still baffled as to WHY he felt the need to do so – is he justified in doing what he did?

[donruss]

Just another micro-managing control freak IMO.

[myswtghst]

Unless there is any way for customers to find your site (inadvertantly), I don't see why it's such a big deal. If you put your full name on there, or mention the company name, so that someone searching via Google or somesuch might run across it, I could understand, but I do think he's overreacting.

If it's a personal site with no connection to the company, I see no reason why he should have any right or reason to police it. But I'm not a lawyer, and I have common sense, so I might be wrong.

[blas]

Well see, this is what bugs me. Just about everyone has a Facebook or Myspace.

I figure as long as no one is writing slanderous or awful things about their bosses or coworkers (as in, real names and situations and name calling), then it's really none of their business. Hell, I'm sure some of them probably have Cupid.com profiles or something of the like.

[Broomjockey]

If the laws are the same there as here, your co-workers had EVERY right to ask that their pictures be taken down from your site. Now, the "less than appropriate" pictures, that area gets a little iffy. If you're identifiable as an employee of that company, then they do have some right to ask you to take them down, as you're not promoting the corporate image they're trying to present. If it in no way is directly linkable to the company, then they really don't have much just cause for asking.

But this exact case is why there's a lot of advice sites telling people to take down their myspace and facebook pages, or at least "sanitize" them, when they're on a job hunt, as companies are more and more routinely checking them for applicants. Remember, nothing on the internet is ever completely private. Double check any kind of contract or employment standards that are enforced, and that will give you a good idea as to whether bossman can ask you to take down the other pictures of you or not.

[COMINATCHA]

My boss did say that legally, I haven't actually done anything wrong, other than have the co-workers on the site without their knowledge/approval (which i've since removed) but that he was concerned about what would happen if the wrong people looked at my photos. He said he was worried about how easily he was able to access the site which has my personal information and photos.

Even if that were the case - it's not like I had any naked pictures up there, so what gives? You see more flesh if you go down to the beach! I'm not running some seedy porno site, but the way he was carrying on - geez!

I don't think he's concerned, I think he's just bored and wants to make something out of nothing. He said the co-worker who came to him has been sworn to secrecy not to tell anyone about it, and that I can trust the information/pictures will not get out because of him. He's saying all this and i'm still wondering what the hell..? I feel like i've comitted a crime or something!

[Plaidman]

Personally, I'm in the boat that, what you do on your own webpage, is your own business.

However.... two things. One, having co-workers, eh... but their your friends, but did ya get permisson? Small scare there. Nothing major.

Noooooow, much like here, where most of us *cough not me cough* refrain from stating where we work, for our own protection from ironicy, our own bosses, because if you post anything about your job, or say, have a smaller shirt showing your stomach, with a logo on it, could put a /bad/ face on the company they don't want. Remember, while most of us have common sense, a crap load of people will belive that because you had a bikini on with a logo of your job in the background, then obviously that company, has all their workers dress like that, and therfor are horrible for the world blah blah blah.

libel is written, which is bad in lots of places. If I recall right, your from the land down under. Check this out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutnick_v_Dow_Jones

A foreign publication did slander. Under Australia law, he had the right to sue, because it was on the net. Now granted, its so tiny, and the ODDS of you doing anything of that sort in the tiniest bit is so small its .. well. Doesn't exist. Basically, yes, you can keep your pictures. However, be fare and try not to make mention of where you work, or wear anything of your job. Because people can take offense to that. It be linked to you, as to where you can be sued. But again, not to much to worry about.

[Saydrah]

This is one unfortunate side effect of the information age. I have to police my own personal blogs for appropriateness because I'm an employee of a website, and our users would probably be able to find me elsewhere on the internet if they wanted.

However, I do NOT think your boss is justified in asking you to take those pictures down- and I think you'd have a discrimination case if you were disciplined for refusal to do so. There has never been any legal precedent for employees to have to represent the company in off-work hours, except when the position is high-profile such as a CEO.

[Broomjockey]

He said he was worried about how easily he was able to access the site which has my personal information and photos.

Even if that were the case - it's not like I had any naked pictures up there, so what gives? You see more flesh if you go down to the beach! I'm not running some seedy porno site, but the way he was carrying on - geez!

*blinkblink* Yeah, you're fine. "He was worried." Sheesh. You're a big girl, you know how comfortable you are with putting your information out there. With this being the case, I'd say firmly, but politely, tell him the photos of you are staying up.

/me wanders off muttering about micromanagers...

[myswtghst]

And to top it all off? It was that co-worker that had tipped HR off about MY blog...oh, he got his in the end though. Funny how karma has a way of coming back to kick people in the ass.

Ok, now you know you have to share this story in another thread.

[Tria]

Slander is written, which is bad in lots of places. If I recall right, your from the land down under. Check this out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutnick_v_Dow_Jones

Nooooo..... *Twitch* LIBEL is written, SLANDER is spoken....

[Dreamstalker]

My boss only knows one of my online IDs (my ebay userID, which I'm considering changing simply because I'm bored with it). There's almost no way to connect this ID with that one...except through an invite-only messageboard you need to have an account with to view.

[Horsetuna]

I was told by the girls at work not to let the big Boss catch me on Myspace or Facebook. Which is good, since I have never even surfed their site.

I dont get the big deal over myspace/facebook really. My dad's roomate (former girlfriend) once asked 'Why aren't you on facebook?!?" as though there was some horrible sin with being NOT on it. I just dont WANT to be tracked down by old schoolmates.

[Slytovhand]

Hey Cominatcha!

You ought to see the stuff that the ppl at my workplace put on their sites!!! I look at them (well - actually I don't :P) but I see a whole stack of co-workers on their!

No - you haven't done anything 'wrong' - so sod the manager. And if you have photos of your friends, who just happen to work with you, then I'd be inclined to show them and see what they think before you take them off (although, you already have).

What's personal is personal (unless you have a specific legal agreement about some such thing - but that's always going to be iffy, even in a court room!)

You do have a right to your privacy, and what you choose to do when you aren't at work - including put up photos (and, for that matter, even if you did nude shots in playboy... I recall the police officer getting in trouble for that a year or 2 back - but apparently the problem was that she had bits of her uniform on at the time - and that's what the problem was!)

So... go for it - remember - you're 'down under' - she's all good here, mate :P

(btw - what's the site? :P)

Slyt

[hawkchick11]

We've gotten memos at work about things being posted on Facebook/Myspace. As long as we arent giving out confidental company info, or writing bad things, they don't care.