Friday, March 19, 2010

Professionalism of Instant Messenger in the Work Place

As America becomes more technologically advanced, it is becoming more common to use instant messenger at work while high school and colleges are blocking the instant messenger usage on networks. Although it is becoming more common to use instant messaging in the workplace, it is important to remember that although the instant messaging can be used for recreational reasons that the sole purpose of using the instant messenger should stay business focused. It is important not to waste valuable hours at work talking to friends and family when there are customers that need your assistance. Although the instant messaging is being used on the works secure network, you should not discuss confidential information while using instant messenger because most instant messengers do not have security blocks. It is vital to remember that although you are using instant messenger that you still need to be professional and not use slang. If you work at an insurance company and are using instant messaging to discuss a claim and the claim ends up in litigation, it does not look very professional for an employee to have “lol” and “brb” in the midst of the conversation. It is clear that many companies want to stay updated with the current waves of technology which is positive aspect of the technological advancements but it is also critical to keep a sense of professionalism when conducting business.


http://www.noslang.com/im.php

2 comments:

  1. Is this company policy or do you know this through experience?

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  2. It not set in stone. I'm sure every company has some unwritten guidelines. It is similar to knowing not to use slang when completing a research paper.

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