Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Goliath Says, "Comm-link Online."

Last week I decided to test the waters at my work concerning instant messaging. When I started my new job I was told that instant messaging was discouraged, but that our department had been cut some slack. I was given the impression that it would probably be alright for me to use one.

But I chose not to. I thought that as a new employee, I didn't want the first impressions I would make to be exploring the edge of what was allowed. Also, I thought it might be good for me to focus on getting to know the new job. So I decided to wait.

Fast-forward to last week. Coming off a busy week of putting in extra hours, things seemed slow and laid-back. Plus management was gone on a retreat, so things were really quiet. I installed my IM client.

I chatted with a couple friends. It was really nice to be able to communicate again. Especially since some of them are people whom I rarely see in person. And it was nice to see the list of friends there and know that I could chat with them, if I wanted to.

But somehow I didn't feel quite satisfied. Being plugged back into my psychic-like connection wasn't all that I thought it would be. And in the back of my mind, I felt a nagging doubt start to grow. What if this is not okay? What if I get in trouble?

So since having installed the client, I've only been on intermittently. This morning I asked my manager about it. He said it should be fine, just keep it on the down-low. Phew!

I'm back.