Now that the lifetime employment system has collapsed, the era of working with only one company until retirement is over.

Therefore, many people who change jobs leave their previous companies with positive thoughts.

I think that the more people who have contributed to the company they work for over the years, the more people they exchange business cards with.

Business cards contain your personal information, information about your place of employment, and information about your business partner.

When you change jobs to a new company, you no longer need the business cards you used at your previous job or the business cards of the other party.

However, for the company you work for, it will be important data, so I do not recommend that retired people decide how to handle business cards without permission and prejudice.

This time, we will introduce what to do with business cards when you retire, and whether it is okay to return them or dispose of them with a shredder.

When you retire from the company where you work, you basically have to return not only your business card but also [uniform, equipment, name tag, company emblem], etc.

This is because if the industry you are changing to is a rival company, you can easily tell the new company about the inside information if you still have the business card and customer information of the previous company.

By doing so, there is a risk that a rival company will steal a customer from your previous job.

Even if you do not intend to do such a thing, it is better to return your business card as soon as possible when you leave the company, as there is no way to get the company to trust you.

Also, if business cards are managed inappropriately, there is a risk of leakage of corporate secrets or unfair competition, which may lead to undesirable situations for companies.

Some of them abuse it by going to a restaurant in private and presenting the business card of their previous job at the time of accounting and telling them to bill the company.

In this way, in order to prevent misuse, some companies require employees who are about to retire to submit a [Confidentiality Pledge].

It is common business etiquette to return business cards promptly when you retire, but is there an obligation to do so?

In the world, there are a lot of businessmen who retire and change jobs, not just me.

Among them, although the percentage is small, there are incidents such as cases in which a person started his/her own business while employed, and after retirement, used the business card of a customer obtained at a previous job to conduct sales activities.

In this way, there are cases where business cards of one's previous employer or business cards of customers are used and misused, so many companies make arrangements to have them returned promptly after leaving the company. .

However, there is no clear national law stipulating the obligation to return the business card of the previous company.

Business cards received by employees as part of their business are often regarded as information assets of their company, even if they are kept by the individual employee.

Therefore, there is no obligation to return business cards, but basically it is good manners to return all the business cards of retired employees to the company.

There is a proverb that says, "Don't leave a trail of birds behind." When you leave a company, it's best to do so with a sense of gratitude and to avoid leaving any regrets behind.

Some sly people may copy or scan information from their employer's business card or a customer's business card and keep it for themselves before they retire.

However, in the future, if there is a problem with business card information, it may cause some harm to the company where I used to work.

Therefore, it is better not to copy or scan and reproduce.

It's fine if you just return the business card to the company when you retire, but some companies manage the data on their own servers.

Such companies have to change their passwords or take other security measures so that retired employees cannot access the server information in the future.

Recently, there have been incidents of unauthorized access due to retiree accounts remaining on the system.

I promptly returned my business card and did not handle the server of my previous company at all, but there is a risk that I will be the first to be suspected if unauthorized access is made.

Therefore, when returning business cards, if you manage information on a computer or handle server information, it is safe to change your password or ask your company to handle your account.

And even if you are positive about changing jobs and intend to quit the company, there are cases where the company you work for treats you as a traitor.

In order not to think like that, it is better to say thank you and say goodbye to people in the company and the president before returning the business card.

After that, return your business card and leave with a good impression.

It is desirable to return the customer's business card when you retire, but many people may think that it is okay to dispose of it with a shredder yourself.

However, you must not dispose of the information of the business partner company that the retiree was in charge of at your own discretion.

Also, even if you are handing over to a successor, you must not hand over business cards to each other without permission.

The best way is to have your boss take the returned business card and hand it over to your successor if necessary.

Therefore, before you dispose of business cards with a shredder yourself, you need to ask your boss's opinion once.

In addition, there are cases where individual employees manage information using a business card management application on their smartphones, so it may not be possible to simply shred the information.

The company wants to avoid trouble as much as possible, so it should follow the company's judgment rather than self-judgment.

Also, if you throw away the business cards of the company you do business with, if you decide to go back to work, all your hard work will go to waste, and you will have to acquire customers from scratch. increase.

Shouldn't we think carefully so as not to regret later?

I told you that it is better to decide how to dispose of customer business cards of business partners according to the judgment of the company rather than self-judgment.

Then, can I dispose of my business cards by shredding them at my own discretion?

If you are a top executive, such as the president of a company, you may dispose of business cards at your own discretion.

However, if you are an employee, you should stop shredding your own business card on your own judgment.

If personal information is handled carelessly, the company's information management quality and security measures will be questioned.

Therefore, basically, it is better to return business cards to the company as soon as possible when you retire.

If you don't want anyone to know your information by shredding, you should consult with the company you work for and decide what to do.

Business cards should basically be returned to your previous company, both your own and those of your customers.

Currently, there is no legal obligation to return the item, but it is becoming common sense as a business etiquette.