Android for Work untangles business and pleasure
Have you ever posted a gripe about work, forgetting your boss and coworkers are among your Facebook friends? Or started a job search then slapped your forehead with regret, realizing you should have hidden that photo album depicting your antics at a particularly raucous party? Do you occasionally send out group emails that include both work and personal contacts — and sometimes get confused about where they belong in your life?
Android for Work separates your work and personal apps. From Rob Bulmahn.
Most professionals recognize the wisdom of maintaining a separation of business and pleasure. As the old saying goes, you shouldn’t mix the two. And while it certainly happens, when it does, the results can be far from comfortable.
Those of us of a certain age may recall there’s a whole Seinfeld episode devoted to the concept; neurotic George’s “worlds collide,” i.e. his girlfriend connects with one of his real friends, and he nearly suffers a nervous breakdown at the loss of “Independent George.” (True, for most people a girlfriend would fall into the pleasure category, but for George, a romantic relationship more closely resembles work.)
Back when Seinfeld aired on prime time television, keeping professional and personal worlds separate was simple. You avoided dating anyone at work. You didn’t invite your coworkers to your parties. You’d select maybe one friend at work to trust and confide in, but that was it.
Now, we can share information indiscriminately with all of those people. Drawing lines isn’t easy at all. Even if you can figure out where to draw them, social media is so well-linked you can share too much with too many at the press of a button — before you even realize what you’ve done. Worst of all, a mistake like that will live on the internet forever.
Scared yet? Perhaps this is a good time to share some happier news. Google hears your fears and understands the potential pain you wish to avoid. Thus the development of Android for Work, a platform that allows businesses and workers to keep work apps and personal apps separate on the same device — a smartphone, for example. Everything you’re using requires separate usernames and passwords, and all work apps are tagged with obvious icons, so you know exactly what you’re using and really can’t make a mistake.
The move is a push to encourage people to opt for Android not only on smartphones used in businesses, but also on digital payment kiosks inside cafes and retail stores.
With this kind of technological assistance, you can make sure you mix business and pleasure only with true intent.
