Snooping Coworkers- And What You Can Do About It

By Wes O’Donnell, Veteran U.S. Army & U.S. Air Force

Let’s face it, a corporation is an entity at war. On this battlefield, the spoils of victory are often the hearts and minds of your customers. And in corporate combat, like real war, information is power. Professionally, we have all had to suffer the occasional nosy coworker.

Mostly benign, he or she may be content with prying a little into your personal life and gossiping about you behind your back.

However, there are instances where a colleague crosses a line with the intent of doing real damage to your career or your personal and professional reputation. These coworkers need to be dealt with quickly and decisively.

According to a recent global survey, 92% of respondents reported that they have caught their employees attempting to access information they don’t need for their day-to-day work. Cyber-snooping of coworkers should be taken seriously by management as the behavior could open the company up to liability by the victim.

So what can you do to protect yourself from snooping coworkers?

First, the company has a significant role to play in fostering a culture of privacy. A good company will have a clearly defined privacy policy that protects its workers’ lives outside of work.