What to do if…
you lose access to a shared work account or workspace unexpectedly

What to do now

1. Write down what you are seeing.
   Note the time, the tool or workspace, whether you are blocked at sign-in or only at specific resources, and the exact error text. Take a screenshot only if your organization allows screenshots of work systems.

2. Separate “account disabled” from “permission removed.”

   • If you cannot authenticate at all, the issue may be identity access, password, MFA, conditional access, or a disabled account.
   • If you can authenticate but cannot see channels, folders, projects, or shared documents, it may be a role, group, license, workspace, or app-permission issue.

3. Contact IT/help desk using security-safe, audit-friendly language.
   Use: “My access appears to have changed without warning. I lost access to [workspace] required for current work. Please confirm whether my account was disabled, my permissions changed, my license changed, or this was a security action. Please restore required access or tell me who owns the change.”
   Ask for a ticket number and the team responsible for the change, such as IT, security, HR systems, or the app administrator.

4. Notify your manager in writing and ask for confirmation.
   Use: “I suddenly lost access to [workspace]. IT ticket #____ is open. Can you confirm whether my role or permissions were changed and what you need from me while access is blocked?”
   Keep this message factual and short.

5. If compromise is possible, use your organization’s incident channel.
   If you see unexpected MFA prompts, unfamiliar device or session notices, password reset emails you did not initiate, or unusual sign-in alerts:

   • Report it as suspected account compromise through your security or IT incident route.
   • Ask whether a security control restricted your access.
   • Ask IT or security to review active sessions and force sign-out or revoke sessions if they think that is needed.
   • Avoid using unfamiliar or untrusted devices for work access until IT clears them.

6. If you were an admin or owner and operations are blocked, ask for official recovery.
   Ask IT or security to use the organization’s official admin recovery or emergency access process, if it has one. Ask them to reassign ownership, restore a suspended or deleted user, or restore a deleted group only through approved admin consoles with logging.

7. Preserve work continuity without moving restricted data.

   • List the exact deliverables, approvals, files, channels, or systems blocked today.
   • Work only on tasks you can do on approved systems.
   • Tell the project owner you are blocked pending IT restoration, using an impact-only message.

8. If timekeeping or pay reporting could be affected, keep a basic record.
   If you cannot access your normal timekeeping or work systems, keep your own factual note of when you were available, what you tried to access, and what was blocked. Notify your manager, HR, or payroll that an access issue may affect today’s reporting.

9. If this might be an HR or employment action, keep the first hour focused on clarity.
   Ask HR or your manager for written confirmation of any role change that affects your tools, access, or day-to-day work. Deeper HR or legal questions can wait until you have the basic facts and your access issue is documented.