Apparently, the PC I was given by my employer less than a year ago is too out of date (uses Windows 10) and I have to have Windows 11 now for security reasons. I have a gaming PC, but it’s my partner’s, too, and it’d be a huge waste of its power and graphics card, plus it’d have to be moved. I really don’t want to do that.
A new company owns the company I work for now, but still. This is not what I agreed to. Ugh. I’m so annoyed.
It’s not that expensive, really ($200), but it’s the principle of the matter. How long will it be before they force me to do this again, anyway??? I already get paid a shit wage.
Apparently, the PC I was given by my employer less than a year ago is too out of date (uses Windows 10) and I have to have Windows 11 now for security reasons.
upgrade this to 11 if the hardware is compatible. don’t do anything else other than click the button in windows update for it. that much won’t cost you a penny.
(back up the important data, bookmarks, etc. first, just in case windows update wants to crap all over your system)
nearly every pc sold new from the major manufacturers in the last decade is compatible with windows 11 system requirements. it may need a bios setting changed to enable a hardware feature windows 11 ‘needs’ to have.
if what they provided in 2024 was actually a 10+ year old pc… then, i dunno. definitely push back a bit there. win 10 doesn’t go ‘end of life’ til october, so you have time to discuss things with them. there is also an optional program to give a win10 system updates past then (not free. iirc, $30-some first year. more in yrs 2 and 3 if wanted).
if you need new and you’re unsure if you’ll get reimbursed or reimbursed right away. don’t go crazy. go ‘acceptable’ for the task-at-hand, and as inexpensively as possible.
if you’re in the us, walmart has a basic asus laptop for $249 (8gb/256ssd core i3).
i highly recommend keeping ‘work’ pc and stuff separate from ‘home’ and ‘play’ stuff and systems. work on a work pc, do everything else on something else.
Many are compatible, yes, but I wouldn’t say nearly every one is compatible. My laptop is from 2018 and is not compatible because Microsoft doesn’t like my processor. Despite the fact that I’m sure it would run win 11 just fine.
I’d buy the new PC so that your own PC can actually be your own still and your work stuff can be relegated to that new PC.
There’s plenty of really good reason to not mix work and pleasure on your main PC, your employer or school effectively taking ownership of your main, personal system being one big one.
Optionally, I’d also just start looking for new work if you work for a BYOD place.
They should pay for your work computer
What?!
Your employer is making you buy a work PC?
That’s a huge red flag, you should never be paying for work supplies, especially a fucking computer.
Seconded OP, you should never have to pay for your own computer for a role. If you had a BYOC policy (which I’ve only seen really new startups and super shady telemarketing places do), then I’d be looking for new work. You can be honest, tell them you can’t afford it. Tell them you’d need a stipend to do so. They don’t need to know you have another computer. Just say “I understand the security concerns, but I can’t afford it, if it’s an immediate need then let’s discuss a one time stipend so I can upgrade earlier”
No, the correct answer is “No, it’s your duty as employer to provide me with the tools to do my work”.
No beed to start bluffing and making excuses when the other end is wrong from the start.
Right except in shitty telemarking jobs the response to that is “Sure thing, so there’s the door, goodbye”. I know because I have had family work in them, and they’ll just hire someone else. I was trying to give an example of how to be tactful and maybe not get fired.
If you get fired for that, you should take them to your state’s Labor board and/or to court.
If they’re making minimum wage working paycheck to paycheck they probably can’t afford being out of work for very long, neither of those options puts food on the table next week. Going to court also requires a lawyer that is going to cost much more, especially if they have no income. You keep talking about what should happen. Yes, what you’re saying should be the way to go, but in reality it doesn’t work.
Going to the Labor board, at least here in Oregon, is pretty painless and may be doable while still working there. My only experience with them was after an employer just locked us all out of the building and closed one day, so continuing to work wasn’t an option for me. They treated me well and got me money quickly, then took the guy to court to get it back themselves.
Also, I don’t “keep talking” about much here; the comment you replied to was the first one I made :).
Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT use your own device. You most likely will have to install software packages onto the machine that can and will track everything you do, at the bare minimum on the work account, and potentially the entire system. You don’t want to run the risk of the company having access to your personal stuff.
There are also a lot of legal words that work their way into contracts that state things like “anything done on a work related machine is the property of the company”. Don’t risk it, fight them to get them to provide a work device.
You are under no obligation to use your personal equipment and I wouldn’t.
Who owns the company PC you are currently using? How much is it worth? Likely it’s part of the corporate IT fleet and is covered by a support contract. What does that cover? What happens if it gets damaged, who pays for what?
Tell them you don’t have a pc.
No. This is a con. An employer has to provide the necessary equipment to do the job. If they’re prepared to try this on they won’t hesitate to shaft you at a later date.
