'Is there any way I can tell him no?': Micromanaging boss wants remote access to worker's personal computer

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

Aug 15, 2023 12:00 PM EDT

Your personal devices are exactly that: personal… and shouldn't be confused with tools that were provided to you by your workplace for—well, work...
That's not to say you shouldn't ever use your personal devices for any work-related reason—but this should only be done on a case-by-case basis and shouldn't ever extend to allowing your boss remote control over your personal computer.

At any rate, you'd probably expect your management role that requires the use of a laptop and a cellphone would provide you with—well, a laptop and a cellphone… When you ask about these devices upon their mention during training and are met with a surprised laugh from your new manager, who then responds that you will be using your own phone (on your own plan) and your own laptop—that's a huge red flag that shouldn't be ignored. You should definitely not spend a further two years of your life working for that company and be repeatedly surprised and disappointed when they refuse to provide meaningful support and continually cut costs at your expense.

This worker was faced with a challenging situation when their boss requested the ability to remote access their laptop in order to go over the project they were working on. The manager was insistent on this method, refusing to access the project themselves through a shared drive.

Reading through other contexts provided by the original poster in the comments leads us to an even more puzzling situation. As the original poster explains, they have been provided with a work laptop; however, it isn't up to the tasks required to complete their job. Unusually, a worker in this situation would just be stuck with a less productive machine until it died and needed to be begrudgingly replaced by IT, but this company instead allows workers to use their own personal machines. This would be an insane risk for some organizations to take, opening themselves up to security breaches through unsecured personal machines accessing the company's network.

So, the worker has elected to use a personal machine but has done so because an adequate one has not been provided, which leads us to a less cut-and-dry scenario when it comes to the boss's request for access. Although, I still feel that the worker should not have to provide remote access to their boss.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments, and please like and subscribe for more.