'He doesn't know how to access the project': Micromanaging boss wants remote access to worker's private computer to view the project they're working on

Generally, your working life, including everything that comes with it, is reserved for—well, work—including your laptop, phone, and such that your employer has provided for you. By contrast, your personal stuff is for your own personal use, and that's why it's—well, personal. There are very obvious things you should and shouldn't use each device for, and those things should be kept separate. Sure, these lines can blur and often will—after all, not everything is black and white.

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Posted by Brad Dickson

For one thing, it's not uncommon for an employer to not provide the appropriate equipment for your role. Are you a manager who needs a cell phone to be easily reachable and participate in calls for work? Well, you might expect that your employer would provide one to you and not laugh when you ask about it during the onboarding process—else, it would make sense for them to at least provide you with a loaded SIM card or, at least, provide some kind of compensation. And, when you find using your personal device on your personal plan some months later for business use, it might be time to reevaluate your employment situation.

Even if you have been provided a tool for your trade, sometimes that tool is not well suited for the work it needs to be doing. For instance, if you're a video editor and have been provided with an aged Dell laptop with 2GB of RAM… You're probably not going to be getting a heck of a lot accomplished. Rather than continuing to suffer and solider on with the obscenely high loading times on the machine you have been provided, you might, instead, use your own computer at home with 32GB of RAM and other hardware that far outpaces your work computer.

via Christin Hume

That's how this employee found themselves in the situation they were in; they had started using their personal computer at home after finding themself struggling to complete tasks on their work machine. But, when their micromanaging boss wanted remote access to their computer to view the project they were working on, the employee found themself in a difficult position. It would be foolish to allow their employer to access their personal computer, yet it had been their choice to complete the project on their own machine, and their boss was insisting.

This whole account of events serves as a great reminder for why most companies have strict rules around the management of sensitive company files and information, often forbidding things from being taken home or being worked on non-workplace-provided computers.