I used my company laptop by mistake (and now I’m worried they’ve seen everything)

Question

Without thinking, I used my company laptop after work to go on LinkedIn and look through jobs. I'm starting to think of a career transition but I haven't actively started applying — until I saw a job I was really interested in. It wasn't until I was looking for my resume on my computer and couldn't find it that I realized I was still on my work computer. I know the company can monitor everything I do on my laptop and now I'm worried they've seen me looking at other jobs. Should I stay quiet and hope no one saw? What can I do?

Sue DeRosier · Answer

As someone in works in cybersecurity/IT, I can tell you that even though they can technically scan for what people search on and where they go on the internet, most companies, including mine, do not have the time nor will to dive that deep. Unless someone is under investigation for other reasons, we're not going to poke around in their files or searches. That being said, it is always best to keep 'church and state' separate when possible. :)

Lydia Poon · Answer

I wouldn't worry about it, for multiple reasons:

1) You did nothing illegal or presumably outside the bounds of your company's IT policy. And even if companies CAN see what activity happens on your computer, it doesn't mean that they are actually monitoring or that whoever's doing it (maybe some IT department member) gives a crap about this kind of browsing behavior vs. much more serious stuff.

2) LI includes many resources that could be legitimately job-related, like training courses, following posts of industry leaders, joining industry group conversations, recruiting, etc.

3) Even if all your LI activity were looking at job postings only, and in the unlikely event you get called out on it, there is nothing wrong with looking around. Any company or manager who fires or reprimands an employee for just trying to understand what is out there is not one worth working for long-term. Seriously, any manager who thinks they can put blinders on their employees as a retention/loyalty strategy has their head in the sand.

Just switch to another device for future job searches.

Ashley Koerner · Answer

Likewise, I would not stress about this. Hopefully, your employer has better things to do than monitor your every movement, particularly right now. While they have the ability to look into your searches and whatnot, looking at other jobs is not shameful and if they were to call you out on it, it might be an opportunity to have them demonstrate why you should stay there as opposed to start over elsewhere. Any employer who approaches it differently and/or is micro-managing to the point that they're watching your every move is not a healthy employer nor environment.

And, as a person who has actively applied to other jobs from my desk while at work, and who has attended phone interviews in between work meetings, from my experience employers are addressing larger, more egregious issues in relation to company property usage.

Elizabeth Gough-Gordon · Answer

Most IT departments of companies are too busy to scan individual computers for their search and browsing history, but it may not hurt to clear your browser history and cookies. I once accidentally sent my resume to a prospective job using my work email address and learned my lesson as well! Nothing came of it (our company didn't even have an IT department), but I keep my LinkedIn and job search use to my personal devices only from now on .

Anonymous · Answer

Okay, first things first: Go apply for that other job. 
Second things second: Take a deep breath. There's no crime against looking. You're right that, if anyone should care to look, they'll see this. But most of that is to be able to track any viruses that get downloaded into the network, illegal activity, etc. Your employer would need at least 1 dedicated monitor per 20 employees to be able to adequately trace everybody's every minute of online activity, and most companies don't invest that much in policing your activity. 
The bad news is, if anyone does see it, it's highly unlikely they'll give you an opportunity to explain yourself. The good news is, it's probably not a fire-able offense. I was at a company once where the supervisor did check up on her staff's internet activity on their work computers and gave everyone a written warning for inappropriate use of company material. One person had the presence of mind not to sign the acknowledgement because there was nothing in the HR book that said she couldn't surf around while on her legally prescribed breaks. Granted, a company can fire you for pretty much anything they want, but right now your employer is looking to keep good people onboard.

Prepare yourself by reviewing what your HR manual says about internet use for anything other than company use. If they bring it up, take the hit and keep looking. Otherwise, chalk it up to a lesson learned, don't do it again.

Denise Miley · Answer

I would agree with everyone here. Most likely not a fireable offense. If you're interested in the job, go ahead and apply. There  are many times I wish I took more chances but didn't out of fear (of failure).

I have used the company laptop a few times for personal use, but I really try to avoid it for this very reason.

Anonymous · Answer

I'm sharing this anonymously to protect the...guilty. I supervised a much older male English teacher (as in he was easily old enough to be my father). Once, while we sat side-by-side so I could show him how to do something on his laptop, he opened a new tab on his browser, which Google has decided is a good opportunity to suggest websites you visit often. One of the previewed sites on this man's computer was a wildly inappropriate one. In the moment, I didn't say anything but in the end, IT spoke with him and checked computer records that he hadn't used the computer inappropriately, but because he had accessed that site on another computer where he was also logged into his work account, it showed up. Extra dangerous because he easily could have pulled up a new tab while projecting his computer to his students. Super awkward but no one lost a job over it.

I used my company laptop by mistake (and now I’m worried they’ve seen everything)

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