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Q. I use Instant Messaging a lot while I’m at work. Most of the time its work-related but occasionally I have IM chats with my girlfriend, who happens to work for the same company I do. Should I worry about doing this? How private is IM?
Submitted by Anderson Tribels, Denton, TX
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There are a number of effective techniques, and A: Dear Mary,
A.
A. Dear Anderson –
First let me assure you that you’re not alone. A recent study by the AMA and ePolicy Institute found that 35% of employees use IM at work. More concerning is their finding that 24% of employees use ill-advised content including jokes, gossip, rumors and disparaging remarks and another 10% reference sexual, romantic and pornographic content in their chats.
The general rule of thumb about Instant Messaging (IM) or any other electronic communication is if you don’t want it to be public, don’t write it. Many workers mistakenly believe that their IM chats are private, and only seen by themselves and their fellow chatter. When, in fact, there are several entities that can be “saving” the contents of your chat. For example, the person you’re talking to can be logging the chat, your computer can be logging the conversation, and third parties such as your IM provider can save chat records.
More importantly, employers are starting to hold employees accountable for misuse of IM chats. According to the AMA study, 13% of employers now retain IM business records, and 2% of workers have been fired for inappropriate IM chat.
So, my best advice is to fight the urge to discuss the last date with your girlfriend over IM and stick to business-related topics. Remember, this is business, it’s not personal.
Seymour
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