When is it ethical to use some company time and resources for one's professional benefit? [closed]

Question

It's obvious, though, for example, that you shouldn't try to learn Photoshop on your financial firm's time (unless they assigned you a job to design something for them, though that's unlikely).

The general answer for this is probably no - it's wrong to use their time and money for one's benefit. But some circumstances may call for it, right?

For this question, let's assume that you have completed the tasks for the day (although most likely, you could start tomorrow's work... but then again, there really isn't such a thing as absolute completion).

I've seen some questions here about people's employers unable or (dare I say) unwilling to provide training even if the training would benefit the company.

So, is it alright then, to do some learning to improve oneself, on company time, even for the company's benefit (again, because your employer is unable or unwilling to provide means for your professional advancement)?

No, we haven't ignored or we don't refuse anything else the company might provide.

To complicate things: What if your boss says "no, don't learn that because that's not and never going to be how we do things here?" If you don't, you'd be following instructions, though you could be sacrificing your marketability.

This is NOT a duplicate question How can I approach career development with a boss who doesn't seem to support this?. The answers there don't address whether or not it's alright to sneak personal professional development into some company time. For the most part, the answers suggest that it is ultimately the worker's responsibility. So now, if so, then is it alright to use some company time to exercise that responsibility? That's my question.

Answer 1

I think it comes down to company expectation. In the oil industry it is not uncommon for cranes to sit for weeks without being called for a lift and in general the only expectation is that the operator is there and ready when called upon. I know of a crane operator who learned several languages while sitting in his cab waiting to be called upon. This would be a sharp contrast to the restaurant industry where the mantra is "if you have time to lean, you have time to clean".

The best individual answer for you is going to come from your boss. If you ask first you won't have to apologize for making a wrong assumption.

To address the edit: The answers there don't address whether or not it's alright to sneak personal professional development into some company time.

Your employer has the option of determining what you do on company time. If they say they don't want you spending time on learning accounting or the next big framework that is a reasonable constraint, the same as if they said they don't want you developing your career as a pro video game player. They are paying for your time so they get to decide how their investment is spent.

Sneaking in things that they have already shot down is a good way to ruin things for everyone. If you get caught a likely response from the company is more beaurocracy around training approval meaning that all training for everyone is harder to get. Don't be that guy.

Answer 2

Why not both? Do things that benefit you and the company.

The general answer for this is probably no - it's wrong to use their time and money for one's benefit. But some circumstances may call for it, right?

This is a logical fallacy.

It's implying that either you OR the company get benefit or your work. So if you benefit, the company doesn't.

A good goal for employees is to continuously do things that maximize benefit to both them and the company. You want to do things that develop you as well as add value to the company. The better this works, the better your career will be.

It's obvious, though, for example, that you shouldn't try to learn Photoshop on your financial firm's time (unless they assigned you a job to design something for them, though that's unlikely).

Let's look at this example. If you phrase it like, "I want to learn mad Photoshop skilz" then yeah, it's not great.

But what if you presented it like:

• "Hey boss, I was noticing that our communications are really low quality. Our team creates a lot of documents that don't look that great. I've wanted to learn Photoshop for a while - would you support me doing this so we can make our communications more professional?"

Win-win!

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There will be industries that have more slack time. Some consulting companies, for example, have downtime between contracts. You can do the above then too, just phrased more like, "I would love to do X in the future, we have a bit of a downtime now, what do you think about me spending some time learning X? It'll add value to me and let us do Y/Z in the future."

Answer 3

Definitely YES

If the learning would benefit your career and help you perform better at your role, then it is definitely ethical to learn after your work (or in your free time).

But, if it is for your own benefit which does not benefit the company, then NO.

For example, if I am a data scientist:

Can I learn data science technologies like Spark in my spare time or after work <-- YES

Can I learn photoshop? <-- NO It doesn't help you improve at your current role. You might want to do it at home.

Answer 4

As long as you aren't using up non-trivial consumables, are getting your work done, and are not interfering with the operation/competitiveness of your employer, you absolutely are justified in performing self-directed career development activities whenever you can get away with it.

MANY successful people got their start when they were bored at work and decided to do something about it. These folks usually do NOT "ask for permission" from their boss to do things like trying out an idea by way of a prototype, some writing, calculations or a design, or business plan. Smart bosses see this as initiative.

Just do it-- you probably won't get fired unless they want to get rid of you anyway and need a reason.

Answer 5

Many modern jobs are more project based than time based, but it's ultimately up to your employer. I would say it it all right if you're getting things done and if you're doing company things on your time. The lines of being "on the job" can get blurry.

I recall a lawyer saying, "If you're in the shower thinking about a client, it's billable."

This should open a dialog with your boss so you can find out what her expectations are and possible additional things you can learn to benefit the company and hopefully help your career as well.

Answer 6

So, is it alright then, to do some learning to improve oneself, on company time, even for the company's benefit (again, because your employer is unable or unwilling to provide means for your professional advancement)?

If you ask your boss for permission to "do some learning on company time" and you get consent, then it is perfectly alright to proceed with your learning.

To complicate things: What if your boss says "no, don't learn that because that's not and never going to be how we do things here?" If you don't, you'd be following instructions, though you could be sacrificing your marketability.

That doesn't complicate things at all - they become extremely simple in this case.

In this case, you have been expressly forbidden from spending company time learning. In this case if you value your job you will not do so. Instead, learn on your own time.

Easy.

Answer 7

There was an ethics class where I mentioned hiding things as a symptom something is wrong in a relationship--not that we should openly do bad things, but the question of whether something is done without the faintest attempt to hide it; if you're hiding your dealings with another from your spouse, that's a red flag. You are not obligated to catalogue every interaction with every person you meet, but if you start hoping or acting so that your spouse doesn't learn of certain interactions, there's probably something wrong.

There are some kinds of legitimate secrets to hold--a surprise birthday party, for instance, but then the question comes of, "What if the other person found out?" If despite your best efforts your spouse finds you were attempting to orchestrate a nice surprise birthday party for them, they will unlikely be furious. A hair of the wrong color on your collar is a slightly different matter.

The professor suggested that secrecy / hiding / withholding information is a noteworthy red flag not just in relationships but in ethics in general.

I don't think you need to get explicit approval for every self-training, but I would try to be on the same page as your employer. This could mean no self-training, but if you are doing all your work, many bosses will see self-training on top of that as increasing your value to the company. So don't sneak it and feel guilty; ask your boss about general expectations and self-train in ways where you are on the same page as your boss.

Answer 8

Different companies have different cultures about how acceptable this is. However, if your current boss has directly told you not to learn something on company time, then you are at risk of being fired if you do so. Once a boss has forbidden an action, then don't do it. You say you view it as a win-win, but clearly your boss does not and his opinion matters more than yours as far as what you spend your time on at work. If you genuinely think it is a win for the company then make the business case, but the boss is the final decider and you need to accept that gracefully if he decides against what you want.

Find something acceptable to your boss to do during down time. It might be a language that you need more depth in that the company currently uses. It might be creating a proposal for some new system you would like to implement. It might be learning more about the business domain. It might be cleaning out old file cabinets! The company owns your time during the work day, it's their choice what they want to pay for.

If you want to get qualified for things your company does not use or intend to use, then do that on your own time. It is the same as if I decided I wanted to be a doctor, you wouldn't expect my current company to pay for a qualification like that that they get no direct benefit from would you? Learning a tool that they don't use is useless to them and they are entitled to decide not to pay for it. There are always things you can learn that will help in your current job.

Answer 9

• Is there something else you could usefully do in your current (or similar) role such as perhaps helping a colleague. "Finding something to do" work, essentially?

• Is there something else you could do to benefit the company, such as learn a useful related technology or skill?

• When asking your manager if there's anything further he'd like you to do, what was his response?

• Can you find anything useful to do: review documents, vacuum the hall, clean the kitchen?

If you've answered no to all the above, then you truly have nothing useful to provide the company at the present time and I wouldn't see a problem with doing something non-company-related: however you shouldn't just do this off your own back.

Go and discuss it with your manager, explain the situation and ask how he'd like you to use your time: charity or open source work, for example. If he still has no response, ask if you can undertake some personal projects.

Even then, I'd still try to avoid making money on someone else's time: can you find a personal development project which has a soft benefit to you (learning a skill you may find useful later, learning a foreign language, researching interesting technology etc) and if possible a potential benefit to the employer.

Try to avoid tasks that would directly make you money.