You've Got to Be Kidding!: How to Keep Your Job Without Losing Your Integrity

What Will Become of Us?

I am a cheerleader for the Ethical Office, and a culture of trust and mutual support like this doesn’t stand a chance if offices are overwhelmed by security concerns. You cannot drive forward by constantly looking in the rearview mirror or looking over your shoulder, my dad used to say. I worry that hyperanxiety about new technology and new threats we don’t understand will make us timid and risk averse; I also worry that surreptitious monitoring with cameras, access cards, and keystroke monitors promotes a corrosive atmosphere of distrust. Monitoring with a “gotcha” attitude causes employees to feel resentment against the company. The best way to avoid this is to write security policies down, then communicate and enforce them consistently.

Today’s administrative professional—like our friend MaryBeth from the chapter’s opening—is a frontline gatekeeper against all sorts of rascals both inside and outside the company who place their personal interests above the company’s. Your eyes and ears are often early-warning detectors of security problems. You are a target for those who want to steal or misuse your company’s tangible and intangible assets, and the “side door” through which they will try to creep, simply because you possess so much of the company’s information.

Like it or not—and formally or informally—you are a vital part of your company’s security system. The professional’s response to a breach of security is to try to stop it. If you see or learn about ...