Secretly videotaping your co-workers with your smartphone -- Career Center Blog

October 26, 2011

Secretly videotaping your co-workers with your smartphone

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By Michelle Goodman
NWjobs

office zombie.jpg There's sure to be lots of talk of scary supervisors and creepy co-workers this week. But you know what's really scary? The person at work who secretly uses their smartphone to record unflattering, embarrassing, or compromising videos of their colleagues.

[Photo by alifeinbits]

In a recent online survey commissioned by webcast software company Qumu, 50 percent of respondents said they would happily use their smartphone to record the office underbelly, from tackily clad co-workers or nasty grooming habits to an admin wiping out on a freshly mopped floor or the boss sneaking a second donut when she thinks no one's looking.

What's more, 57 percent of the of 2,361 U.S. adults polled in the survey claimed it would be a hoot -- or at the very least, "interesting" -- if someone they work with were to share one of these embarrassing videos on the company network.

The video your fellow working stiffs would most like to see? That of a colleague getting punk'd.

And the runners-up?

A co-worker doing a dead-on impression of the boss
A C-suite executive having to make coffee
A colleague sleeping on the job
Rank-and-filers horsing around when they think no one's looking
Someone stuffing their face in the office break room
An office party that ends with slurred words, sloppy kisses, pools of vomit, or other workplace-inappropriate behavior

I won't lie. On a couple of occasions, I've used my cell phone in downtown Seattle to snap a photo of a random passerby wearing a "You've got to see it to believe it!" outfit so I could share it with a friend. But I find the idea of playing candid camera with colleagues at the office a little frightening.

What if your boss doesn't appreciate you digitally documenting her two-donut-a-day habit and takes her grudge all the way to your annual review? What if that video you shot of your officemate Oliver snoring through the CEO's speech falls into the hands of a humorless higher-up, or worse, a sneaky social media junkie at a competing company?

Rib your work friends all you like if that's what gets you through the week. And if you must poke fun at the boss, do so among trusted friends, preferably off company premises. But whatever you do, resist the urge to press Record. Why leave a digital trail that can come back to haunt you later?

Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide." E-mail Michelle at mgoodman@nwjobs.com

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David | November 25, 2011 10:03 AM | Reply

I think there needs to be a line drawn to keep the workplace professional. I understand it is important to have social interaction in the workplace but that can happen off-premise e.g. if friends from work join to have drinks and/or dinner. As for pranks and smartphone video of embarrassing moments, I'm not even sure that is acceptable for colleagues off-premise.