Dear Jane,
I am a new HR manager at a small company. I recently discovered that one of my employee, let’s call him James, has been using company resources for personal use. I am not sure how to handle this situation. I do not want to create a hostile work environment, but I also need to ensure that company resources are being used appropriately.
James has been with the company for about a year and has been a good employee overall. He is always on time for work and meets his deadlines. However, I recently noticed that he has been using his company laptop to watch movies and play games during work hours. I also noticed that he has been using the company printer to print personal documents.
I am not sure how to approach James about this issue. I do not want to embarrass him or make him feel like he is being treated unfairly. However, I also need to make sure that he is aware that his behavior is not acceptable.
What should I do?
Sincerely,
Even when personal use of workplace equipment is allowed, there needs to be clear professional boundaries. Setting reasonable boundaries will help to ensure that personal use of printer or watching movies or playing games during work hour doesn’t become a productivity, security, or liability concern.
- Asking James to stop is probably the best way to handle the situation. While making a few personal copies here and there is okay, but because James is using the printer during working time, you can say you are experiencing a loss of productivity.
- It may also be sending a message to other employees that personal use of printer during work time is OK.
- You can also tell him that tying up a copy machine so that other employees can’t make copies for clients or customers can also be a problem.
The exchange doesn’t have to be formal or adversarial, but be sure to stress to him that the copy machine is to be used only for business purposes. If you can post a notice near the copy machine indicating that it is for business use only.
I understand moment you caught James watching movies at work, immediately, an alarm goes off in your head. You think,
“Why is he watching a movie, he’s paid to get work done, not watch movies.
It doesn’t seem right that he’s doing anything other than focusing on his work while on the clock.
What should I do? What should I say?”
Before you run to try to “fix” this seemingly bad behavior, pause for a moment.
Employees doing nonwork related activities such as going on Facebook, scrolling Instagram, and online shopping has seemed to increase.
Countless people multitask. Some are great at it, some, not so much. Also, people often listen to music or a podcast when working to drown out distractions. Watching movies could serve the same purpose for certain individuals. As you said his productivity is not down and he is meeting all his deadlines too, there are few things you can do,
What to evaluate and to decide whether you should take action.
Do not be authoritative and treat it like your typical performance improvement conversations.
The behavior is disruptive to other employees
Rather than reprimanding him for being the cause of distraction, bring it to his attention.
“Hi James, I noticed you were watching a movie yesterday while working. It doesn’t seem to be a distraction for you as you’ve continued to produce exceptional work. However, it could be disruptive to those around you when you have it on full screen. How do you think we can minimize the distraction to others?”
Violates company policies
You can also tell he is violating company policies, start with a warning. Then move to disciplinary action based on your company’s policies. Consult your HR department if needed.
“Hi James, it has been brought to my attention that you have been watching movies during work hours and on company computers. This violates company policies on the appropriate use of company property. Please do not engage in such activities anymore.”
Remember, if you find yourself wondering what to do if your employee is watching movies at work or taking print from the printer, follow these above steps, then take the appropriate action depending on the scenario.