Information Technology and Ethics/Uniform Treatment Of All Employees

Treating Company Messaging Services with Respect For All Other Employees
A majority of resources given to an employee may be monitored for use, especially to check if the use of resources like email or instant messaging apps are used for non-work related purposes. Be sure to read the internet and resources policy if your work has one and be aware that whatever it is employees are doing on those resources may reflect on the company. Chances are, if someone is bothering another employee or a group of employees with spam or controversial opinions that were not asked for in a team meeting for brainstorming purposes that it may get that employee in trouble if it continues. Remember that there should be a clear divide between personal accounts and resources and work resources, and that work resources should be just for work and work related projects and purposes. A weekly check in may be fine on a project, a daily check-in however may be not warranted.

Diversity in the IT Workplace
Diversity is a hot topic in the workplace, but it’s important to treat everyone with respect, not just the diverse employees that have recently joined the team. Remember the saying “Treat those how you wish to be treated”. If you are a manager or a boss, it is especially important to treat those under you with respect, as those under you and their conduct may reflect directly on how you have been treating them or your style of conduct. While businesses are growing more diverse, take that time to create inclusivity and sensitivity training so those that already work at the business do not misstep with new employees and make sure to reinforce that training whenever possible. Those who leave the business under less than better conditions may complain about that business to friends, narrowing the possible employee field and potentially giving the business a bad reputation if such complaining is to continue. No favoritism should be tolerated or occurring at any level, if it does, it should be shut down and the position or other item should be added back into the internal field for another go-around, this time based on credentials and work experience. If there is an employee that continues to cause trouble even past sensibility training and conduct reviews, it may be easier to remove the individual than it would be to keep them on if they rock the nebulous environment of the workplace if all other options have been exhausted.

Focus on your own work and don’t get distracted
Think of work a bit like a hotel, you have your desk, that would be considered your room, you’ve got everything you need there to complete your work, and if you do not you can go to a manager and ask for it. Every employee has their own desk, their own “room” with which they can complete their work, you would not go into someone else’s room for something. That would be an invasion of privacy and indicate a lack of respect for your coworkers, which could cause issues later down the line that would not be in the workers best interest. It is the same with personal information, if someone does not bring up a situation that you saw occur, you should not bring it up in public unless they themselves bring it up. While bonding with coworkers is a good idea, it can make a hard day a little easier to have work friends around, gossip should not be tolerated, especially about another coworker. Remember that people are there to get work done, not to talk and that by the end of the day that workers should have gotten something done with their work day.

Likewise, unless it is crunch time and everyone is racing to get a project done and turned into the client on time, work should not be a competition unless your work is purposefully making it a competition for workplace bonding or as a morale booster. If a competition is to be had, maybe make it for outside work activities with the team or group, like Baseball, Kickball or other team building and bonding activities. Work should be done largely at your own pace or at a pace you can keep up with to ensure workers do not get burned out. A competition for who can do the most work in a day or a week or the most projects could get both of the employees in trouble with management and may affect more than just the couple of employees participating. What should have been fun for some employees may cause tension across the whole floor, and generally looks unprofessional if not work-sanctioned in nature unless at a workplace where such conduct is considered commonplace.