Do I Have to Use My Personal Laptop for Work?
Welcome to Lifehacker’s first column of tech tips in 2019! This week’s question from Lifehacker reader Mike is something that many of us have had to deal with at some point in our lives: the annoying balance between technology, personal life, and the demands of our professional lives.
Before I start, one little reminder. I’m looking forward to the new year of 911 tech support , fueled by a myriad of tech, disaster, and other nosy questions you’re ready to send me. So please drop me a line about any issues you have (or leave them as a comment in my posts asking for questions ). This is the best (and only) way to provide answers to your questions in a future column. Let me help you!
Now let’s move on to Mike’s dilemma. This is important, but definitely worth reading:
I’ll try to keep the backstory simple: earlier this year, I took a new position as a contract employee at a consulting organization. It is a virtual business all over the world, which is why 95% of employees work from home. As a contracted employee, I was required to use my own device without reimbursement (which was fine, I recently bought a new laptop for personal use and didn’t really want to use two devices). We used Skype for chatting and Sharepoint for file sharing – no big deal, everything worked fine. After my contract was completed, I was offered a permanent position (hooray!) And I continued to work in the same structure on my personal device. Everything was still functional well.
Recently, my firm started a major overhaul of its IT infrastructure. They recently asked us to upgrade to Windows 10 Professional, which has been reimbursed. Nothing wrong. We were then asked to install a Windows 10 Enterprise profile on our laptops. This includes creating a new user account as well as joining their Azure Active Directory (whatever it is …). While reading the instructions on this, I noticed a few disturbing clues. Specifically:
- [when connecting to my work account for the first time] Connecting means that your work or school can control some things on this device, for example, which settings you can change
- [when joining Azure AD] These steps will configure the device as your organization’s device and give your organization full control over that device.
Are there any security concerns if I continue to use my personal laptop for personal and business purposes? Will I be able to run both accounts, or will it really only be a work computer? What else should I know or learn to make sure my data is safe?
I also have the option of getting a separate work laptop, but I was intrigued by the convenience of using just one device (assuming my data remains safe).
I fully understand your desire to make your tech life simple, and I want to start with a clear and precise answer. When you use a laptop that your company runs – whether they’ve handed it over to you, or whether they have administrator access to the operating system that powers your computer – you must assume that everyone and everything you do , is recorded, tracked or viewed in any way. Don’t expect privacy or do anything on this device that you would be uncomfortable doing when your boss (or HR manager) stood over your shoulder.
I know this sounds a little harsh, but being strict is the surest way to avoid any workplace issues altogether – with regard to your equipment. I don’t mean that you’re the kind of person who can get into trouble with this kind of thing, but I also don’t want to underestimate the importance of the open window that your work now has for your technological life.
I don’t work in IT and am not very familiar with the nuances of corporate setup, but in your case, I would be wrong to be careful. Even if you have two user accounts in Windows 10 – one for personal belongings and one for work (which gave you dire prompts when setting it up), I would keep whatever you do on a work-related laptop in the future. … …
Assuming that, at best, the contents of your personal account are completely hidden and encrypted so that no one else can see what you store in your custom folders (or what you uploaded to them), there are many other reasons. why it is important to create this separation. You need to set a mental switch at a minimum. This will ensure that you don’t accidentally browse to a site you don’t follow, or download something you didn’t want to do when you’re in your work account and not your personal one.
Mistakes do happen. Perhaps these are not even your mistakes. I have had a lot of friends who are faced with the dreaded problem “someone texted me during a working presentation, and my MacBook got a preview, oh my god.” Separating your personal accounts and data from your work environment protects you from these situations, and the easiest way to do this is to use work devices for work and personal devices for everything else.
Also, you don’t know what your employer’s IT department will expect from your system. What if they release some kind of update that accidentally locks your device, making it impossible to access your work and personal data? You may not miss the former as much as the latter, especially if you haven’t backed up your photos, movies, or documents in a long time.
Plus, why add wear and tear to your laptop when you don’t need it? That’s eight (or more) extra hours each day that you overload your battery or start mechanical parts that could fail sooner than otherwise. If a corporate laptop fails, the company probably has a replacement that it can provide you right away, or established, easy ways to get your laptop repaired. If your personal laptop breaks down, it is your responsibility. There is no guarantee that the company will pay for the repairs or even buy you a new one. After all, this is your laptop.
When you leave work – especially if it’s an unexpected exit – IT pros can wipe your entire laptop without warning you. This can be a problem for you and is another good reason not to mix work and personal data on the same device.
At the end of the letter, you indicate that you have the opportunity to receive a work laptop. This may seem inconvenient at first, but it is the perfect way to keep the church and government divide between your two lives. You will have to resist the urge to do the little things for convenience, such as setting up your personal Gmail account or your favorite messaging service on your work laptop. This will be annoying in some cases, but the privacy is worth it. And if your personal laptop breaks down for any reason, at least you have a backup that you can use for basic purposes: Internet searches, driving directions, safe YouTube videos to cheer you up, etc. D.
Going forward, a great way to get around this whole work-life balance issue is to tell your employer (or prospective employer) that you have no technology resources at all. Your smartphone? Does not exist. You have a stupid T9 machine. Your laptop is broken and you haven’t bought a replacement. You’ve never owned a desktop PC.
Let the company provide the resources it needs to get the job done best. Don’t volunteer your equipment if you don’t need it.