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[NecrosaroIII]

Ever since work from home started, my colleagues and I have had a group texting chat started within my department as a way of keeping in touch. No supervisors/management are in the chat. It's harmless stuff; netflix shows, sports talk, talk about drinking etc.

Management heard from someone that this chat exists. Now they're all extremely paranoid. They frequently ask us what is being discussed in the chat and who is saying what. It's kind of weird.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Yeah totally weird for them to care. That’s encouraged where I am, whatever gets people talking, bonding and working across the network with one another.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

I think because we work in a high stress environment, they're worried about us turning against the company or something. But I dunno.

Case in point: Yesterday hey fired one of our managers. We were talking about it in the chat, just trying to figure out what happened. This morning every participant was asked to say what we discussed. So much paranoia

 

[J-Roderton]

Similar case with me. Our team was using one of those video chat apps similar to zoom to keep in touch and the company put a stop to that real quick.

 

[IDKFA]

It's to stop mass discontent.

At my employer nobody is allowed to discuss their wages or individual performance reviews. Reason being because if the pay grade system is corrupted as fuck. It's not what you know, but who you know. There are people on the same job where underperforming staff are getting paid more than performing staff. Also, if you get moved to a higher area, they'll try and keep you on the same pay as long as possible, even though it's a promotion.


Fuck, I'm so glad I'm getting made redundant from this shit hole.

 

[greyshark]

I would not want to work for a company that didn’t trust me.

 

[QSD]

We have a team app at work, lots of joking and shit talking goes on there. Manager doesn't want to be in it, but just accepts it. It seems almost insane to me that a company can dictate who you associate/communicate with. Seems like that shouldn't even be legal.

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

I work as a janitor at SIE and I keep hearing the lads laughing all day.

Wish I knew what they were talking about

 

[YCoCg]

Shit man, you can't go around having secret worker group chats, the bosses might think you're trying to create some kind of union or some shit!

 

[Happosai]

Ever since work from home started, my colleagues and I have had a group texting chat started within my department as a way of keeping in touch. No supervisors/management are in the chat. It's harmless stuff; netflix shows, sports talk, talk about drinking etc.

Management heard from someone that this chat exists. Now they're all extremely paranoid. They frequently ask us what is being discussed in the chat and who is saying what. It's kind of weird.

I trained for a project in September with AT&T and was the only person to certify out of a class of 9. They made a chat to keep in touch. My project didn't meet international demands and will be shutdown the last week of December. They're all starting a new certification program with Verizon and I'll be joining in with operations in January. The managers who didn't certify my colleagues for the current doomed project are now paranoid about their job security and started asking about our private group chat. I told them it's nothing to do with the company. They seem paranoid that someone will paint them less perfect than they already are before the company is bought up by Verizon. Maybe it's guilt that they want to know what the 8 they didn't certify have to say about them. We chatted in Teams, too. As far as I know, no one is looking in on those chats. Funny how management will have lesser positions than a grunt like me during the new production in January. Either way, it's not the business of your company unless someone is plotting revenge or to socially engineer some private accounts.

 

[lock2k]

If they try to spy on me I'm fucked. I would probably be dismissed right away and condemned for crimes against humanity lol

 

[Cutty Flam]

OP works for Umbrella

 

[just_some_nut]

they're afraid you're gonna leave and start your own company

 

[Rentahamster]

Obviously, the solution is to send the group chat more dick pics.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

I'm on the fence on this one

I think mobile phones should be banned in the work place. On the flip side it's better to have one worker drop another worker a text vs leaving their station to engage in distracting conversation. So...

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

It's to stop mass discontent.

At my employer nobody is allowed to discuss their wages or individual performance reviews. Reason being because if the pay grade system is corrupted as fuck. It's not what you know, but who you know. There are people on the same job where underperforming staff are getting paid more than performing staff. Also, if you get moved to a higher area, they'll try and keep you on the same pay as long as possible, even though it's a promotion.


Fuck, I'm so glad I'm getting made redundant from this shit hole.

In some countries punishing employees for discussing wages / reviews is illegal, since discussing your wages with other workers is a pretty basic step in unionizing -- or at a minimum, advocating for your own higher wage.

 

[IDKFA]

In some countries punishing employees for discussing wages / reviews is illegal, since discussing your wages with other workers is a pretty basic step in unionizing -- or at a minimum, advocating for your own higher wage.

I'm in the UK and I don't I'm pretty sure employees are able to discuss wages with each other, but my employer creates an atmosphere of fear. If somebody is getting a (tiny) pay rise, they are told under no certain circumstances must they discuss with anyone else. Clearly this is because the pay increases are unfair and they know if people did discuss it, it would open up a biblical can of worms.

We have a union, but out the 120 people on my floor, I'd say maybe 5 of us our members. People just don't see the point of joining.

Anyway, matters not to me any longer. I'll soon be redundant, take the redundancy money and be off to a new career path.

 

[Super Mario]

I've noticed that a lot of large companies these days "allow it" if it's in a company-sponsored chat. Obviously, they have the ability to see what's in there. I don't think they care most of the time about your personal chat. They are probably just worried about legal stuff.

 

[Arkam]

Sounds like poor management. As a people manager and department head I actively try to foster my people to do this. It is natural and healthy for a group to see those above them as “not one of us”. They should commiserate about their woes together. This builds teams together.

And any good leader knows that they should never try and be part of the social group of their subordinates. As a manager you are aware of a wider field of information that creates your perspective. Your subordinates lack this and that is ok. They are busy with and more aware of the “on the ground” work. So they will of course have a lot wrong ideas about the org and can easily get whipped up into a tizzy. As a manger you can almost always dissolve this with a few objective facts that they are aware of, but heir subordinates are not.

But if you are a bad manager all hope is lost as you will not be able to dissolve the unrest because your foundations weak.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Successful things come from good communication if “chats” is your main concern than YOU are fucked.

 

[The Pleasure]

Ever since work from home started, my colleagues and I have had a group texting chat started within my department as a way of keeping in touch. No supervisors/management are in the chat. It's harmless stuff; netflix shows, sports talk, talk about drinking etc.

Management heard from someone that this chat exists. Now they're all extremely paranoid. They frequently ask us what is being discussed in the chat and who is saying what. It's kind of weird.

They're scared because you are encouraging TERRORISM! I mean unions.