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My co worker and I went on a vacation trip (not work related). We are friends, but not super close, so even I found it weird that she asked me to go with her, but I decided why not. I brought my laptop with me but she didn’t. She asked if she could use my laptop to do work. We work at the same company and same department. I always thought that you can’t ever let someone use your work laptop. For example, what if she makes a mistake or does something? It’s going to look like I did it, so I will get blamed. So that question made me uncomfortable. Am I right for feeling uncomfortable?
Last edited by basket123; 08-31-2021 at 06:17 PM..
A bigger question I'd ask is why, if it was a work trip, she didn't bring her laptop.
It may seem strange but I saw it in education all the time. Teachers give up their Planning Period to cover for an absent teacher and you'd use the computer in that teacher's room.
She should have brought her work laptop on a work trip, but how long did she need your computer, and what for? Five minutes to check some emails, or was she actually doing real work?
She should have brought her work laptop on a work trip, but how long did she need your computer, and what for? Five minutes to check some emails, or was she actually doing real work?
She wanted to do actual work (complete and submit a file), not just check emails.
You specified this was a vacation trip, not a work trip. So I don't know why others keep bringing up she should have brought her laptop on a work trip.
Secondly, it's most likely she signed into her own user domain using the company laptop. So she shouldn't have access to your work files. If you allowed her access on your own account, then that's on you.
Technically, it's not your laptop, but the company's laptop. You have been signed over possession of it, so you are solely responsible for the care of it. If you don't trust this person with using it, then you are within your right to tell them so.
However, in a lot of these hypothetical situations presented on this forum, I think there is much ado over nothing. Like why are you going on a personal vacation with a "co-worker who you aren't close friends with"? Just because she asked you? Umm, okay, that's a little bizarre for starters. And since she's probably logging into her own user domain, I don't know why there is all this hullabaloo about her using your work laptop. She doesn't have access to your files if she's signed into her own account. If she is not able to sign into her own account on the laptop, then I probably would be leery about letting her use it. But as an aside, I once went to a community outreach event put on by our company and I brought my personal laptop. My coworker who was with me asked if she could use it to sign into her Outlook account to set her out of office. I said, "Sure, no problem", because it really wasn't a big deal. It's not as if she was snooping around in my files or sending off emails from my account.
Some of the scenarios seem so unbelievable here, that it makes one wonder if they are even real.
You specified this was a vacation trip, not a work trip. So I don't know why others keep bringing up she should have brought her laptop on a work trip........
It was brought up because the original post didn't specify it was a vacation trip. That was added later through an edit. I checked twice before I answered originally about the type of trip, it wasn't specified at that time so my assumption, as well as that of others, was that it was a work related trip.
My co worker and I went on a vacation trip (not work related). We are friends, but not super close, so even I found it weird that she asked me to go with her, but I decided why not. I brought my laptop with me but she didn’t. She asked if she could use my laptop to do work. We work at the same company and same department. I always thought that you can’t ever let someone use your work laptop. For example, what if she makes a mistake or does something? It’s going to look like I did it, so I will get blamed. So that question made me uncomfortable. Am I right for feeling uncomfortable?
is it weird? I don't know why it would be weird. People use other peoples computer from time to time....What I find even more weird is you going on a trip with an "almost" stranger .
Sharing equipment is usually not the issue (albeit some organization may have that policy). What is an issue is sharing accounts. So if she is logging into the computer as herself, then it likely won't affect what you do. Albeit depending on how the system is setup, she may not have an local account on your computer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by modest
You specified this was a vacation trip, not a work trip. So I don't know why others keep bringing up she should have brought her laptop on a work trip.
Secondly, it's most likely she signed into her own user domain using the company laptop. So she shouldn't have access to your work files. If you allowed her access on your own account, then that's on you.
Technically, it's not your laptop, but the company's laptop. You have been signed over possession of it, so you are solely responsible for the care of it. If you don't trust this person with using it, then you are within your right to tell them so.
However, in a lot of these hypothetical situations presented on this forum, I think there is much ado over nothing. Like why are you going on a personal vacation with a "co-worker who you aren't close friends with"? Just because she asked you? Umm, okay, that's a little bizarre for starters. And since she's probably logging into her own user domain, I don't know why there is all this hullabaloo about her using your work laptop. She doesn't have access to your files if she's signed into her own account. If she is not able to sign into her own account on the laptop, then I probably would be leery about letting her use it. But as an aside, I once went to a community outreach event put on by our company and I brought my personal laptop. My coworker who was with me asked if she could use it to sign into her Outlook account to set her out of office. I said, "Sure, no problem", because it really wasn't a big deal. It's not as if she was snooping around in my files or sending off emails from my account.
Some of the scenarios seem so unbelievable here, that it makes one wonder if they are even real.
Or questions that are essentially about reading someone else's mind. How is anyone going to know if a co-worker is romantically interested in you, for example.
Make you think why some people can't think for themselves?
Or questions that are essentially about reading someone else's mind. How is anyone going to know if a co-worker is romantically interested in you, for example.
Make you think why some people can't think for themselves?
Instead of handing over the laptop, I would have given her some crayons and scraps of paper. If you're not going to be prepared, you shouldn't be rewarded for lack of preparation or stupidity. The dummies will never learn anything if they don't suffer. Someone needs to break the cycle of facilitating and appeasing.
Sounds as if you need to decide whether this really is a work issue or a personal boundaries issue. Set some and stand up for yourself. If she intended to work on vacation she should have brought the means to do it. That is not your problem, its hers. If neither of you were required to conduct work during this trip and it was in fact your personal computer, consider that "No" is a complete sentence. If it makes you feel better, you could tack on some touchy-feely wording such as "I've spent a lot of effort/time customizing this computer. I prefer other people not use it."
Last edited by Parnassia; 09-01-2021 at 05:11 PM..
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