My desk is out in the open and is connected to two other secretaries - no walls or half-walls separating us. I do a lot of personal business for my boss (scheduling personal appts for her, etc.) that she wants kept confidential and confidential business work regarding the management of the firm. The secretary who sits immediately next to me is constantly commenting on conversations she has overheard while I'm on the phone or in discussions with my boss. Also every chance she gets when I'm away from my desk she is over at my desk "scanning it for something she needs." I'm not sure how to deal with this. My boss doesn't want to get involved but just stresses how everything I do is confidential. Any advice? Thank you!
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It?s shocking how much bosses don?t want to deal with ?stuff?. We are each in our own office (mine has the potential for 2 employees but now it?s just down to me). But even when there were two of us in here we respected each other?s conversations on the phone with employees, etc. However the new girl who is right next door to me listens to her voicemail on speaker phone which I found in creditably annoying and disrespectful. Not only are you being disrespectful to whomever called you (they thing only you are listening to the message) but also to those near by. We have an entrance by our offices that a lot of employees use plus about five feet from her office is a hallway that leads to many areas (so there is a lot of traffic).
If your boss is really that stressed about it but doesn?t want to get involved I?d ask them to move you to your own office so you have the privacy or move the other person if you need to be close to the boss. I don?t know how many other people you have to interact with besides your boss (could you move to a different part of the same hall? Or even a different floor?)
Also like a lot of the others said minimize your screen or lock it. I also put my stuff away if I know I?m going to be away from my desk for along time (the copier is in my office so I?m the main hub). If I?m just walking away for a couple minutes I flip stuff over but you could put it in a desk drawer too.
Good Luck!
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Annoymous on
5/8/2012 11:57:33 AM
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You've received many good suggestions. One other for documents that you need to keep handily available on your desk would be to purchase Copy Safe File Jackets from Esselte/Pendaflex. The cost is minimal and whatever is in the folder is protected from those "scanning eyes".
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Victoria Hahn on
5/3/2012 9:07:30 AM
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Your coworker is commenting on overheard conversations. They are actually fishing for more information. Your job is to respectfully find a way not to feed into the inquiry. A simple response, like, "I understand your question." is sufficient. End the conversation there.
When you leave your desk, get into the habit of putting your computer screen on lock.
I have many projects going on at one time, but I keep my work tucked inside an accordian folder with dividers for the different departments I support. I only have the current project out on my desk. When I step away, I can quickly put the project in a closed drawer and out of sight. Lock the drawer, if necessary.
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Anonymous on
5/2/2012 7:10:33 PM
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Wow! I don't know if you have addressed this before with your boss, but I would make it known to your boss how "confidential" information is being leaked due to the close quarters of the office. Now, if your boss wants the information kept confidential, your boss "must" get involved. It is imperative for the boss to take action in this situation. Ask your boss if it is at all possible to provide any partitions or headsets for your phone calls to restrict interception from your other co-workers. Until then, I believe that immediately that you could create a password for your computer to prevent the other secretaries from scanning for information. I don't know if the computer that you use is a desktop or laptop, but it may be at all possible to shift your screen from on-looking co-workers. It should also be addressed with your boss about stressing the code of confidentiality to the other employees, due to their discussion of confidential information. Although they overheard your discussions, they still should be bound to professionally carry themselves by keeping the information to themselves, and not share it with others. Pray all goes well for you, Faith!
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Tonya Franklin on
5/2/2012 6:06:19 PM
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For your protection, if not already done so, create & sign a confidentiality statement and have the others sign one as well. It will put them on notice that ALL things in the office are to be kept confidential and if anything gets out, there will be consequences.
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Belinda Beaubouef on
5/2/2012 3:12:00 PM
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You cannot maintain confidentiality in that environment. I report to the President/CEO and have my own office. Many people do walk in to my office during the day, and I always minimize whatever is on my screen. Who do you report to? Is there an office available? If not, possibly instead of using the phone for confidential conversations maybe you can ask your boss to call you into her office to discuss what she needs. Also, whenever away from your desk, minimize your screen so that your nosy co-worker cannot see the confidential information on the screen. Good Luck!
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Alice on
5/2/2012 2:14:18 PM
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Is your boss also the boss to this other person(s)? If so, that problem should be easliy stopped by letting her know the requirments of the boss and asking her to please refrain from going through anything on your desk.
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Ardis Jones on
5/2/2012 2:08:50 PM
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Faith, your boss is placing you in an untenable position by requiring you to maintain confidentiality without providing you any means of securing it. In my opinion, whether the boss wants to be involved or not, it is your manager's responsibility to provide you with adequate tools to do your job. It's like asking you to create a multi-functional spreadsheet and handing you a stack of index cards to create it on.
Consider putting the ball back in the manager's court by reiterating that it's physically impossible to keep communications confidential in the current arrangement, as a shared/public desk, phone, and monitor can have no expectation of privacy. You might want to email this communication so there's a "paper trail" of your concerns to your manager. If there's ever a problem, you will be able to provide proof that you made your concerns known.
You might suggest that your manager help you locate a more secluded area such as a conference room or office not being used at the moment--if not permanently, then just for the duration of the task-- where you can conduct the manager's business more privately.
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Patrick McKenna on
5/2/2012 2:05:15 PM
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If your boss expects you to handle tasks that are personal/confidential in nature then she needs to be able to provide you with the proper tools. In other words, an area that is more private. If that is not possible, perhaps you could adjust your start/quit time so that you have some privacy when the others are not there or use your bosses office when she is out to lunch or away at meetings, etc. As far as the documents on your desk, get into the habit of keeping items in folders that you can quickly slip into a drawer when need be.
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Debra on
5/2/2012 12:27:55 PM
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