Hacker News Reader

Comment by niels8472 | Hacker News Reader

Yet private computers and phones are used for company purposes. According to the article employers in the US apparently even think it's normal to force employees to install software on their private devices. Some leeway in the other direction would seem very reasonable.

View on HN

>>> Yet private computers and phones are used for company purposes.

And they should not. Any sane company with a legal department would be clear about that.

I agree though that there is an endless supply of startups and bad companies trying to move these costs over to you. How about you pay for your work laptop and work phone? A good sign to go work somewhere else.

I don't think the BYOD movement is coming from startups. Rather that users want convenience. Spoiled brats like us don't want the company-chosen, business phone, nor do we want two of them (own phone and business phone). Somehow, I feel, though, I'm not representative for the employees in the article.

Startups as you should know, are all about working employees to death. Using your own devices allows you to work for the company anywhere anytime. Work is always a click away if not thrown at you. For instance, the outlook/slack apps will give notifications for new messages, they don't care about you being off hours, they push you to work 24/7.

It's also about costs for small companies. It avoids the company paying and managing the hardware.

I have the option of a company phone, but prefer a personal phone with a company app for access to company resources.

I don’t want to carry two devices. I don’t want my company owning my primary device for personal communication. I would buy a personal smartphone for myself no matter my working condition.

Why are you required to have a phone? May I ask what's your position?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com