RP at work?
Originally published at The Preternatural Post. Please leave any comments there.
If
you could role play at work, would you? Should you?
A new survey from OfficeTeam indicates that more than half of Americans working in office environments have access to non-work related websites including 31 percent who have access to social networks. Add to that the ubiquity of personal mobile devices from smartphones to tablets and it’s easy to see that many role players have the opportunity to RP during the workday.
Before you bring your RP character to work, however, there are a few things you should consider:
- Know your company’s web policy and culture BEFORE RPing from the office. It’s unlikely the policy will directing address role play, however, it may address social media and what your employer considers appropriate and inappropriate use.
- Assume you’re being watched and not just by the fans/followers of your character. Most companies monitor employee Internet use and excessive time spent on personal matters can affect how your employer views your performance, ethics and other aspects that can affect your career.
- Don’t overshare. It’s not just irrelevant content you need to keep a lid on. Don’t encourage coworkers to follow or interact with your characters and don’t forward information to professional colleagues from your RP persona(s). If your characters ever engage in activities inappropriate for the workplace, it’s probably best to leave them at home
- Minimize contact. You don’t really need RP everywhere or be available to your role play circles all the time. Limit interactions to a single platform during working hours or your employer may begin to wonder whether you’re wasting company time.
- Be vigilant and responsible, especially when it comes to potential sources of viruses, trojans or other security concerns. Save the blog reading and following of links to video, audio or images for home.
Unless you’re promoting a book, series or film, role play probably isn’t a business activity. That isn’t to say it’s something to be ashamed of or treated like some dirty little secret. Rather RP should be treated like any other hobby you might have. If you wouldn’t bring your knitting or model building or painting or video gaming to work, you probably shouldn’t bring role playing either.
“Even if companies don’t block access to certain sites, they may be monitoring employee activity for excessive use,” said Rob Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam. “Professionals should be mindful of how they are spending their time while at the office. Surfing the web might provide a nice break from work, but it should never get in the way of it.”
In other words, think seriously about whether RPing is something appropriate for the office, don’t just do it because you can.
Related Posts