E-mailing Responsibly

There are many forms of unacceptable e-mails. The workplace demands a high degree of professionalism and appropriate business decorum—no less so in e-mails. Using vulgar or offensive language, speaking ill of other people, flaming respondents in a discussion, spreading rumors or forwarding chain letters are some examples of unacceptable behavior. Harassing individuals, sending spam – jokes and any other messages to a group of people—is also inappropriate.

Basically, even if you're upset, annoyed, or frustrated, don't say anything about anyone in e-mail that you wouldn't say in a letter. E-mails have the unfortunate ability to turn up where they are least expected. Either they get forwarded to others without your knowledge, or you accidentally send them to unintended recipients because you mistakenly hit "reply to all" instead of the intended addressee. Should someone be offended by the e-mail, it has more weight than a verbal slight. It is physical evidence and organizations that do have policies about such usage will take the matter seriously.

Yes. Send as few personal e-mails from you're work account as possible (some organizations forbid this completely). Most importantly, do not send any message that you don't want to be made public. To be safe, communicate with your friends and family via an Internet-based e-mail account readily available from Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL or GoogleMail. At least that will help ensure that you keep personal and business matters completely separate. In either case learn how to write a good e-mail.

In general, however, keep e-mails short and direct. Use them sparingly, everyone is becoming buried under a huge number of e-mails that all demand attention. If you are a boss, try to contextualize your e-mails to subordinates and be professional.

Research has shown that people send almost as many personal e-mails as business e-mails through their workplace computer systems. While it is convenient for individual employees, companies believe that it slows down urgent business e-mails, reduces productivity, and increases the risk of viruses entering the workplace. An increasing number of organizations are restricting the personal use of e-mail in the workplace, from any account, including those stored on the Internet.

Check your company's policy. If staff take advantage of the company's e-mail system or use it inappropriately they will be subject to disciplinary action.

If there are no specific guidelines for e-mail use in your company, ask yourself if what you are about to send is generally believed to be polite and if the recipient will welcome the message. Sending the following kinds of messages, at the very least, are considered unacceptable:

• malicious gossip
• pornographic content (text or images)
• personal harassment of other employees, sexual or otherwise
• sexist, racist, or any offensive material even when the sender thinks it is a joke
• defamatory remarks about individuals or companies
• making fun of others mistakes, circumstances, or problems
• personally communicating with individuals after being asked not to

If you need to seek advice regarding whether or not you should send a message involving any of these categories, you probably shouldn't send it.

If you receive these kinds of messages you can do one of several things:

• Delete it
• Return a message informing the sender that you do not want to receive any similar messages
• Inform your boss

The privacy issue is closely associated with the question of acceptable use. Remember, if companies have guidelines on e-mail use, they may also be monitoring e-mail use.

Companies also monitor e-mail to prevent viruses entering their computer systems. Viruses, spyware and other risks will appear as harmless-looking e-mails with attachments. Opening them will unleash the virus; but, some new viruses don't require that you open an attachment, so always be sure the sender is someone you know. Viruses are not just annoyances; they can destroy a computer system.

Outgoing e-mails also pose a threat. There are several potential problems:

• indiscriminately sending confidential information to inappropriate recipients
• accidentally sending confidential information to intended or unintended recipients
• writing opinions in an e-mail that might cause a recipient to take legal action against the company
• deliberately or inadvertently sending a virus that infects the recipient's system

You have the responsibility for checking the content of e-mails you send. Some companies recommend that you place a disclaimer below the signature block of your message. Here are two types of disclaimers:

• The sender does not accept responsibility or any liability for omissions or errors in the substance of this message. All views articulated in this e-mail are those of the sender, except where the sender is acting directly on behalf of the company.
• The unauthorized use, disclosure, copying or alteration of this message is not permissible. It is intended for the addressee only. If you are not the addressee, please inform the sender as soon as possible and delete the e-mail from your system. The material and opinions contained in this message are not necessarily those of this company.

Good record keeping is essential and e-mail, like physical correspondence, needs to be kept on file and accessible. There is a growing body of regulatory restrictions governing what e-mails need to be stored and for how long. Some requirements include:

• accessibility and speed of retrieval
• regulatory requirements for companies operating internationally vary by country
• storage, availability, and disposal of different types of business data is regulated in the U.S.
• certain industries including finance and healthcare have strict requirements for storage and access; some as long as a lifetime.

Courts may request original internal documents such as financial statements, advice given to investors, and internal e-mails. Copies must be produced on demand. E-mails must be stored with the same care as equivalent paper documents.

Retention periods vary, depending on the type of document, its source, and its content. Each jurisdiction may establish its own requirements. The Securities and Exchange Commission requires that documents to be kept for up to 7 years depending on the nature of the material. The Data Protection Act in the United Kingdom actually requires non-essential data to be destroyed after two years. Abide by your company's policy on storing e-mails.

It is tempting to use the e-mail system at work for your own purposes. Sometimes it is unavoidable, after all we live in a wired world and our work lives and personal lives often overlap. So, it is inevitable that you will use the e-mail facilities at work for personal use; just be reasonable about how often you do. Besides, if you have a company monitoring system it will notice your excessive use.

Use of e-mail is really no different than other forms of written communication. It is just as important to be ethical in its use, whether for business or personal use.

The company monitoring system may actually track what you say as well as who you say it too. Tracking isn't just about usage, it is also about content that impacts the company in any way—financial, legal, or on its public relations. Play it safe, when in doubt, cut it out.

If you do not know the source of your e-mails or attachments, delete them and empty the trash. If you are unsure how to handle a particular e-mail situation, contact your IT department for guidance.

Flynn, Nancy, E-Mail Rules: A Business Guide to Managing Policies, Security, and Legal Issues for E-Mail and Digital Communication. AMACOM, 2003.