Should I be compensated for using my own personal equipment at work?

January 7, 2008 6:45 PM

Should I be compensated for using my own personal equipment at work where there is none supplied by my employer?

I am in a situation at work where I often have to bring in my own personal (and valuable) equipment to the office to be able to perform certain tasks. It's not an everyday occurrence, but has happened a handful of times. If I had decided to not use anything of my own, the project(s) they were used on would have turned out much, much worse or perhaps not have been really completed at all. I am not a contractor, I am paid a salary and get benefits, etc.

I feel that I am being taken advantage of. My direct supervisor of the department I work in has kind of created this situation, because his office is chock full of his own personal equipment too. He has a very cheap, miserly approach in his own life, and I think that has spread to our dept. when it comes to spending our allocated budget. Time and time again I have brought up the issue of getting our dept. properly equipped, and I have been reassured that it will happen. But nothing does, even when it comes to the new offices our dept. is supposedly going to relocate to (within the same building we are in now).

The last project where I utilized my gear, one of our administrative assistants came to my office and wrote down the costs of every piece of equipment that I was using at the time. That was ~6 months ago, and I haven't really heard anything more about it, I assumed they were interested in the values for insurance purposes.

I have mentioned this a little to some people further up the ladder and they seem receptive to the idea of getting our dept. the equipment that we need, but I feel that my supervisor is getting in the way by dragging his feet. The company I work for should have adequate money in the budget to fulfill our current needs.

Should I be handing invoices to my employers for equipment rental? Similar industries do the same thing when outside gear is utilized, why shouldn't I treat this the same way?

posted by kilohertz to work & money (16 comments total)

If the project could be done without your equipment, I'd say to use what's provided because otherwise you basically are renting them your own equipment at zero cost. What kind of equipment/project is it though? Are you hauling machines to the office, or is something common like computers?
posted by lsemel at 6:48 PM on January 7

You say you've talked to your supervisor about getting the office properly equipped, but have you done so on a project-by-project basis? That is, he says "This is your assignment" and you reply, "In order to complete that project correctly, we will need X, Y, and Z pieces of equipment. How should I go about ordering them?" And not offering to bring in your own stuff? (And if he asks you to, saying no?)

If not, that may make the need for this stuff a bit more immediate in his eyes.
posted by occhiblu at 6:51 PM on January 7

I am in a situation at work where I often have to bring in my own personal (and valuable) equipment to the office to be able to perform certain tasks.

Just a reminder: You don't have to do this, you choose to do it. Stop that. Sometimes in office situations, you have to let things fall before they're noticed.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:52 PM on January 7 [5 favorites]

Just say your stuff isn't available anymore.

I've brought personal gear in to work plenty of times just to make my life easier, mainly because I can supply stuff faster than the company can, but if the company doesn't think it's worth investing in their own stuff I will eventually take my stuff home and not bring it back.

• Proof-of-concept; no problems, I'll bring it in tomorrow
• Long-term; Sorry, it's being used at home. I can get you some model numbers and prices if you'd like.

posted by krisjohn at 6:55 PM on January 7

I had this sort of thing happen in a previous job (and the opposite: being regularly expected to store work equipment overnight inside my home).

My standard answer was "my insurance won't cover (my personal equipment used offsite for work purposes | your equipment being stored at home) except as a specified extra, which will cost me $XX. Here's the quote. Will you pay it?"

They never did, and I never did.
posted by Pinback at 7:04 PM on January 7 [1 favorite]

Yes, you should be compensated, as long as you make a point of it. Act like a doormat, and they will continue to walk on you.
posted by pompomtom at 7:11 PM on January 7

If you use the equipment at work and it broke while you were using it, would you feel justified in asking them to replace it? This happened to me while using my camera for company business...they agreed to pay for it but never let me bring my equipment again. They did, however, assign me to buy 5 new cameras for the department!

If the supervisor wants to do this with his equipment, that's his business. You should not be expected to do it...period!
posted by GAS_Wyo at 7:25 PM on January 7

My fiancee has the same problem. His personal PC is at work right now, and he's using it to finish his company's projects.

His solution:

1. Get a detailed quote for the required equipment (desktop, printer/scanner, software, etc.) with some choices for the supervisors.

2. Set a firm deadline in writing that says on this date, I will be bringing all of my personal equipment home and it will not return. Do not bend on this. If a project turns out crap, it's not your fault. You can pass that buck up to your supervisor.
posted by santojulieta at 7:26 PM on January 7

You'll probably have to withdraw your equipment before you get results. Right now, they're getting what they need at zero cost. From a bloodless, dollars-and-cents point of view, your company is getting maximum result from zero investment. Sounds like you've tried to rectify this in every polite fashion. Now it's time to force the issue.
posted by EatTheWeak at 7:28 PM on January 7

If you can't get the job done without the gear, the company should be supplying it. Period. Leave your gear at home, and don't bring it back. If the job doesn't get done, its the fault of whoever refused to purchase the required equipment.
posted by jjb at 7:38 PM on January 7

Nthing the above. Next time, just tell your supervisor you don't have that stuff anymore (it was stolen, you sold it, whatever) and aren't planning to replace it.

See what happens.
posted by rokusan at 9:54 PM on January 7

Stuff that you have bought, but use in part, or entirely during your salaried employment can sometimes be claimed back against your tax bill. I would ask your accountant, but it might amount to a big rebate on the cost of something you own anyway. It makes me a lot less resentful about schlepping a laptop to and from work.
posted by roofus at 4:17 AM on January 8

It depends a lot on the industry...

In construction work for instance, you're frequently expected to provide some of your own tools.

Economically speaking you're compensated for this as part of your wages, whether or not it's broken out. The same is true in this situation. So by asking them to provide equipment you're in effect asking for them to agree you're undercompensated and provide a raise.

It might or might not make sense to do this. I can imagine a situation in which you have an infrequently used but expensive piece of gear you're using to do your job. If they buy one, there might not be cash in the department budget to give you a cash raise. If the cost of letting them use your gear is less than the value of the raise they'd give you otherwise, the margin could make it worthwhile for YOU to let them use your gear. This may not apply in your situation.

(My economics lingo is not totally up to the task of describing the process here.)
posted by Jahaza at 4:38 AM on January 8

In construction work for instance, you're frequently expected to provide some of your own tools.
Economically speaking you're compensated for this as part of your wages, whether or not it's broken out. The same is true in this situation. So by asking them to provide equipment you're in effect asking for them to agree you're undercompensated and provide a raise.

Laborers who must provide their own tools (construction, auto mechanics, etc.) can deduct the cost as a business expense on their tax returns. They are not compensated by the employer as part of their wages. Not unless you consider the act of simply being paid for your labor as being "compensation" for the cost of tools. It isn't. No more than a cubicle worker's salary is compensation for the jacket and tie the company requires them to wear.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:42 AM on January 8

Follow roofus' advice and at least claim it on your taxes if nothing else works out.
posted by caution live frogs at 6:08 AM on January 8

Thorzdad, economically speaking, a cubicle workers salary is compensation for wearing a jacket and tie to work. The employer is buying the wearing of the jacket and tie, just like it's buying the employees expertise, time, etc.

Tax purposes are their own seperate deal, in that sense the construction workers are not compensated.
posted by Jahaza at 6:11 AM on January 8