# Has your place of employment fired anyone over their addicton to technology? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 6, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016 "2017-05-06T16:57:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/21 "2017-05-07T19:48:09Z")
Yep. Absolutely no phone use in the warehouse; it’s a safety hazard. Happens every day though. Especially when it’s the forklift drivers. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/22 "2017-05-07T20:18:25Z")
I am the onsite IT person for a large and critical manufacturing facility with hundreds of blue collar workers. It is (not at all) surprising the number of problems caused by people with bad surfing habits. I have had multi-million dollar machines the size of small houses shut down by ransomware because someone decided their controller computer was the best place to search for porn on the overnight shift and blew the entire thing. Viruses caused by porn are pretty common in general. However, I wouldn’t even call that the most insidious offense. The worst is excessive smartphone use in the bathrooms. We only have a limited number of single bathrooms and one happens to be right across from my office. Either we have people with serious medical issues or they are just texting their girlfriend in the half hour that they are holing up in their personal “apartment”. I am pretty tolerant in general. Casual and responsible personal web searches are fine as is streaming music because their job would really suck otherwise. However, there are some lines that you just don’t cross. I can’t fire them personally but I am on the same level as their bosses so I just let them know when someone does something really out of line. I never hear the details but that is usually the end of the line and they are never seen again. I don’t go out of my way to catch people doing anything although that would be easy if I wanted to. It is just that some people make it impossible not to notice blatantly bad behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/23 "2017-05-07T20:27:02Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I have had multi-million dollar machines the size of small houses shut down by ransomware because someone decided their controller computer was the best place to search for porn on the overnight shift and blew the entire thing. Viruses caused by porn are pretty common in general. Your IT security policies are entirely inadequate for the task at hand. > [@](#): > > I don’t go out of my way to catch people doing anything although that would be easy if I wanted to. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/24 "2017-05-07T20:38:31Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Your IT security policies are entirely inadequate for the task at hand. > > :dubious: They are now. They weren’t at the time. It has been remediated. That incident happened in the dark ages (around 2011). We have gotten a lot better about protecting against such things since then. Whole models have to change to accommodate the fact that almost everyone has a small computer in their pocket now, laptops walk in and out every day and the overall complexity continues to grow. We are ridiculously secure now. The problem is that you can have security, accessibility or ease of use but not all three. If you lock everything down too tightly, you start affecting productivity negatively and also damage morale. Some things are better handled at an operational level like getting rid of people that abuse their privileges. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/25 "2017-05-07T20:45:09Z")
You never know when Internet use is being tracked at work. It’s never a good idea to use it for personal use. I check the news and weather a couple times a day. Nothing more. Anything else is on my phone. We strongly discourage excessive Internet use. It’s up to each Dept to decide the boundaries. Someone in their private office can use it more than a receptionist at the front desk. A lot of my work involves projects with deadlines. If I meet my deadline the bosses are happy. They aren’t going to say anything about my technology use. Miss a deadline? The shit would hit the fan. I come in weekends if necessary to meet a project deadline. I get my projects finished on time. I haven’t heard of anyone getting fired. Internet use and texting may just be lumped in as bad job performance. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/26 "2017-05-08T02:28:05Z")
> [@Mr.Accident](#): > > Yep. Absolutely no phone use in the warehouse; it’s a safety hazard. Happens every day though. Especially when it’s the forklift drivers. Our worst offenders are TDR (trailer docking and release). Since you have to use a Kindle or clipboard, the younger people have figured out how to use it to hide their cell phone while they text -------- for four straight hours sometimes. No seriously bad accidents as a result yet but we all know that its “yet”. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/27 "2017-05-08T04:40:37Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > Where i work you are not allowed to bring anything in that you can write on or with. > Absolutely nothing that you could record anything with in any form. Even paper and pencil are illegal? May I ask what you do? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/28 "2017-05-08T05:51:47Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Even paper and pencil are illegal? > May I ask what you do? Bouncer at Larry’s Luddite Lounge. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/29 "2017-05-08T10:51:15Z")
Sounds like the last call center I worked in, where they were trying to keep employees from being able to copy customer info for their own use. I’m aware they STILL had several incidents of misappropriation of said info. ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/30 "2017-05-08T12:00:15Z")
Here’s one from long ago. Back in 1987 I was installing some publishing equipment in Chicago for a newspaper there. The product was PC-286 based. The customer decided to add a 32 Mb hard disk (wow!) to each unit. Their project manager got so wound up in this fantastic storage capacity that he lost sight of the project at hand. I was told later that within three months he was replaced because he couldn’t get past the newfound machine capabilities and the project was suffering from it. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/31 "2017-05-08T12:41:30Z")
Technology? Nope. Drinking a dozen bottles of vanilla extract off the shelf every night? Yup. That happened. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/32 "2017-05-09T00:34:31Z")
My husband works in the finance industry, which is heavily regulated. I mean, they have an entire corporate compliance team that tracks key words in emails and follows up to make sure that there’s no shady business going on. The Office Manager has access to all your emails, and she can and does question workers about them. So it’s not like the people working there don’t realize they’re being watched. Anyway, a fellow in his office was walked out last year after downloading 2\* terabytes\* of porn from his work computer. He works in a cubicle. After he was fired, my husband said, “No WONDER the server was so slow the last month!” Apparently, he’d had a known addiction problem, but they hired him because he’d completed therapy for his addiction. It worked for a year, I guess. And the really funny thing\* is that his last night has “wood” in it, and his nickname is Woody. 😛 \*His porn addiction actually isn’t funny. He has 2 kids and last we heard was getting divorced from his very nice wife. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/33 "2017-05-09T01:59:26Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Even paper and pencil are illegal? > May I ask what you do? Nothing special or nifty at all, it’s just the information that we can see. IT support. Some people here for example support billing systems for sprint and can see transactions, credit cards etc. I do IT for Honeywell and could potentially see anything they have on the network or workstations, from client info to blue prints schematics etc to things their competitors might want to see. So every reasonable attempt has to be made that no information can leave the building, and it is easiest to just apply those rules to everyone irregardless. It kind of sucks too, because it prevents any option of work from home. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/34 "2017-05-09T10:31:22Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > Yes. > > Where i work, you are not supposed to bring any electronic devices into the building > not even a thumb drive. > You are also not allowed to bring anything in that you can write on or with. > Absolutely nothing that you could record anything with in any form. > > Knowing this people still bring them in, and then some are even stupid enough to plug it into their work station, sends the network guys a nice big alert that someone has plugged in a data device into PC xyz. > > Then you get escorted to your last view of the parking lot. > A lot of people have had that escort. Same for my workplace (depending on the security of your work area). No cellphones, no fitbits, no ipods, no step-counters, no electronic pads, nothing. In the secure areas, paper is provided, and your writings are either logged and stored in a safe, or shredded at day’s end. When your computer is upgraded, the old one is melted down in a sort of crematorium. Oddly enough, they will let you keep the remaining lump of metal if you want it (maybe it makes an interesting conversation piece – I’ve never kept mine). Most ports (USB, etc.) on user’s computers are filled with epoxy, and disk drives are surrounded by a locked metal band. Inadvertent entry with cellphone in pocket is forgiveable, provided it’s surrendered to security immediately (along with passwords so they can examine all photos and messages). Attempting to conceal a cellphone is immediate termination and removal by armed guards (your possessions are mailed to you later). Communication with the outside world during work is via a phone with a specialized mic (which supposedly only picks up sounds a few inches away). Before use, workers must make a loud verbal announcement and turn on the flashing strobe over their desk. To the OP’s question, Yes - firings over technology use are not everyday occurrences, but they’re not rare. There is a small percentage of new hires who really don’t take the rules seriously (surprisingly, millenials don’t seem to be the worst offenders). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/35 "2017-05-09T11:42:21Z")
Wow. As a small business owner, I believe I’ve made this work for me. My employees need to get stuff done. If they meet or exceed what the business needs to be profitable, they’re free to check Facebook, read/send texts, or whatever floats their boat. Everyone behaves like adults; so far nobody has taken advantage of the situation, and I’m making a profit. Hell, I’m probably the worst. I’ve had an employee eye roll me when I’m posting something here and they need to ask me a question. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/36 "2017-05-09T12:16:44Z")
As businesses get bigger it’s easier to “right-size” the staffing such that if you have people in some department who have spare time, that’s proof you can eliminate one headcount and still get the jobs done. Said another way, that department head is paying out $50K to $150K per year for Facebooking. Why? Small businesses have a very different situation. Although you might be surprised at what you’d learn if you looked carefully. There are also the many non-clerical jobs where safety or productivity require full attention to the work at hand and no attention to distractions. The machine doesn’t stop just because the worker has chosen to ignore it. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/37 "2017-05-09T12:26:44Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Even paper and pencil are illegal? > May I ask what you do? In addition to the financial information, PII, and client proprietary industrial secret stuff already mentioned, you see a lot of this here around DC because of all the DOD and DHS work going on. You’ll sometimes see folks spending all day in a [SCIF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_Compartmented_Information_Facility). It’s a little creepy to call a number, have someone pick up and just say “5261” and nothing else. You tell them who you’re looking for. They say nothing and hang up. Ten minutes later the person you were trying to reach has gone through security to exit the secure area so she can call you. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/38 "2017-05-09T12:31:26Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Small businesses have a very different situation. Although you might be surprised at what you’d learn if you looked carefully. Twenty years ago the majority of my employees took regular smoke breaks. Non-smokers got comparable breaks. Fifteen years ago I offered financial incentives to smokers who quit (at least at work). Today, none of my employees smoke. Social media provides a distraction, similar to smoking, IMO. I’m totally satisfied with the effort my employees put into their jobs. I’ve _never_ fired anyone. Whatever gets you through the day. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/39 "2017-05-09T13:34:53Z")
While I was a hospital patient, several of the older staff complained to me about the younger staff, who came to work, settled down in the break room with their cell phones, and didn’t budge until someone came in and yelled at them. As far as I know, no one got fired over it, mostly because there isn’t anybody better to replace them. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-your-place-of-employment-fired-anyone-over-their-addicton-to-technology/786016/40 "2017-05-09T20:13:44Z")
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