I work in a formal IT department. There are three of us that are considered system or network administrators. My official title is Network Admin.
My responsibilities include the management of our company-wide email system, main FTP server and helping with maintaining our server farm. I've been there almost seven years and have been working in IT almost 25 years.
Today, a call came in where one of my co-workers was asked to take care of a computer issue in one of our east coast offices. This co-worker then recruited the help of the other admin.
While trying various options, they asked for my help. I immediately offered and asked what the situation was. I was told that they needed to get some data off of a computer. I then asked what computer this was.
This is where the odd part comes in.
I was told by the first co-worker that they were told to keep it confidential and not tell anyone else.
Huh?
Puzzled, but recalling a similar situation happening several times before with the "keep it confidential", I tested a solution on another computer and offered it up to my other co-workers.
Confused
Now I understand certain topics and subjects that need to remain confidential. I've not spent the amount of time I have managing people's data and sensitive needs over the years without knowing how to be professional and ethical in all of my dealings at any company I've worked at.
But when you are in a close knit group of people - a team - you learn to trust each other when dealing with sensitive subjects.
All of us are admins. We all have identical rights on the entire network to manage, disable, grant rights and take care of needs from our upper management when asked.
But for some reason, my co-worker seems to think that when there is a general user that they are told to keep confident about, that means not to share that information with your other co-workers, especially when you are asking that person for specific help.
Granted, this co-worker did share the information with the other co-worker, mostly due to the fact that this co-worker needed additional help. But when my additional help was needed, lips were sealed on any details.
Why does this bother me so much?
Mostly it's due to the fact that we are a team. We all work together in the same area. When a bit of company-related information of a sensitive nature (ie. layoffs, terminations) needs to be completed, I would hope that all of us could trust each other and be confident that we are all professionals and will keep this information to ourselves. I've shared such information before when told to keep it confidential. Why? Because I trust that my other co-workers are just as ethical and professional as I am.
And that's what bothers me the most. It's the lack of any logical or reciprocal thought when a situation comes up like this.
And when it happens again, I fear that I may be just as jilted and just as silent.
Trust and fear. Two bed fellows that often accompany work-related issues.
