What would you have done?

[burpatricia]

Hi Everyone,

I would like some feedback on an uncomfortable situation that I encountered. Our corporate office is in Massachusetts - our tech support office is in Montana - we communicate alot via email and instant message - I am some what friendly with one of the tech girls - however, this particular tech girl was monitoring email for the tech manager while she was away - she admitted to me that she opened the email with everyone's pay stubs and was livid to find out the new tech person's pay rate. I advised her to NOT do it again. However, today I did mention to the bookkeeper that on days that the tech manager is out (which I will let her know) NOT to forward paystubs that day - as someone has gone through them - my boss over heard part of the conversation and I being obligated by my values and respect for my boss - my position and my ethics - explained to my boss what had happened. I don't feel bad for informing the owner of the "breech" so to speak - but I feel uncomfortable that the tech girl who she and I have a good relationship - it will no longer be that way - I know in my gut I did the right thing - but boy was it uncomfortable to see the look on the bookkeeper's face and on my bosses face to know someone knowingly opened the email and looked - the subject line is always "confidential - paystubs" when sent by the bookkeeper. Any advice or suggestions on how to handle the upcoming confrontation that the tech girl is going to give to me?

[tiffanyctd]

As uncomfortable as it is, you did the right thing, especially if the subject line of the email says "confidential". Your primary responsibility on the job is to the company you work for.
Tif

[countrigal]

First things first -- Remain professional, in demeanor, tone, etc.  That's the most important thing.

Then there are potentially 2 ways to handle this:

1)  You can always deny it, in an effort to keep a more friendly interaction with this employee (meaning, no hostility from her).  Not truthful, but sometimes may take the heat off of yourself when you've done the right thing by informing on them.  I know most companies have the verbage in their policies that they can monitor their employees e-mails and monitor who reads what... so if yours does, you can claim this as a possible means of them determining how it was discovered.  The other thing is, if she was really upset, do you think that you are the only one who she complained to?  I doubt it.  And if not, then she really won't know who said anything, as I can't see your supervisor or anyone walking up to her and saying "so and so told me..."  And I'm sure that if and when she is confronted, it will be by her supervisor and not by yours, so that that identifying feature will probably also be removed.

2)  If you don't feel that this untruth (denying you spoke to anyone about it) is not possible, then you just need to state matter-of-factly that it was not your intention to get her in trouble but that you were simply trying to ensure that mistakes like that couldn't happen in other areas of the company by discussing the potential for this type of mistake to occur with the sendee, and that it was overheard by your boss whom you were obligated to fully explain the situation to.  If she has any type of business professionalism, she'll understand that.  (doubt it, because if so, she shouldn't have read the e-mail to begin with if it was marked confidential and with the topic)  If she doesn't, I don't think you'd want to be too close to that person anyway.

Again, retain your cool, stay professional, and maintain that professionalism in all future interactions with this employee.  You did the right thing, and that is the core of this situation.

CountriGal
Peer Moderator

[bluefire21]

I think CG is right.  If the email subject line TRUELY said "confidential - pay stubs", then there really isn't a reason for her to open it.  

Now I'll play devil's advocate for a minute... Let's say the email program used has a preview pane set up that showed the info.  Even if that is the case, this employee should have immediatly closed the email/preview pane, informed accounting what happened, and then said nothing to any parties not involved.  

Of course this is a case of could've, would've, should've, but the bottom line is you have done nothing wrong.  YOUR priorities should be to YOU first, the company second, and then your boss.  Then maybe, just maybe if there is "room" left, your fellow coworkers.  A work friend is just that.  A REAL friend would never have put you in that postion to begin with.


Ellen (Of course they all can't be as professional and as "perfect" as us Admins) in TX

[misslynn]

As admins, there are a lot of things that we see that are confidential.  We earn our boss's trust because we can compartmentalize (did I say that right?) what we know but aren't technically supposed to know and what we know and are allowed to know.  Not only did this girl open an e-mail she shouldn't have opened, but she talked about it.  To me, that's the greater misdead.  She did it in this one instance, she'll do it again and maybe she'll say the wrong thing to the wrong person.

You did the right thing in protecting all the parties involved.  As for how to handle it, it's going to be uncomfortable but if she addresses it with you, I wouldn't deny it.   I also wouldn't defend your actions to her.  She probably won't be much interested in listening to your sound reasoning, she'll be too upset.

[Jackie G]

And if the information in these emails can't be sent so that only the recipient can read them, then why are they sent by email in the first place!?!  That's asking for trouble.

You did the right thing.

Jackie, Peer Moderator
www.iqps.org

[burpatricia]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I am comfortable in doing the right thing by myself and then the company and my boss. I thank everyone for their point of views.

[reddrogue]

It is good to see that everyone has offered you some words of encouragement.  Now let's take a look at the flip side.  It sounds to me like the whole system is the primary problem.  Information that is THAT confidential, simply put, should NOT be email in the first place.  And what exactly does "monitor" email mean in your company?

Perhaps I am a bit of a bleeding-heart humanist, but I try not to rat out people and get them into trouble, even if they have done something incorrect and opened their idiot mouths about it to me.  (Because everyone does something stupid at some point in their lives.)  That girl might get fired; maybe that would make you feel better in the long run?  You could have just as easily informed the bookkeeper to not forward the email without the extra info that it had been opened, and not within earshot of your boss.  That reads to be a very-much-on-purpose action on your part just to get the door open so you could rat the tech girl out.  You could have just as easily emailed the bookkeeper with that info.  

Now you come onto DeskDemon to find supporters because you question your own actions--could it be that you yourself have considered that perhaps you could have handled the situation differently?  Hmmm...

So, that is just how it reads to me, and this is probably what the techie girl will be thinking about it as well.  She made a mistake.  Too bad for her she informed you, of all people, about it.

Rr

[bluefire21]

I agree that the whole system is the primary problem, and that it should be corrected so this will not happen again.  

Also, I would like to remind everyone that this is a place for support, not condemnation.

We have all been in a situation like this.  We all have our own personal ethics, morals and policies.  

The bookkeeper does need to be made aware of the problem.  I know I would have let them know what exactly happen also.  The bookkeeper is also at fault for sending such confidential information via such an easily accessed route.  It is sad that the boss overheard what happened, but that is the risk that you take when you see something like that and don't take appropriate action.  The tech should have informed bookkeeping that this info was sent in a non-confidential manner.  Just because you put "confidential" on the email does not make it that way.

Ellen in Texas

[spitfire78]

Right on, Ellen!  

I have always worked under the theory that my first responsibility/loyalty is to myself (obviously), and my second responsibility/loyalty is to the one who signs the paycheck (not the person, necessarily, just the organization).  You are being paid to do a job and do it well.  The tech person does not pay you - so your very last loyalty is to her.  And if she IS fired, you DID NOT CAUSE IT - her behavior is what caused her firing.  That is very important for you to remember.  We all have to take responsibility and accept the consequences for our own actions.  Your consequence may be the loss of a good working relationship with a co-worker.  Weigh that against the potential consequences of not having spoken up at all, and I think you will find that you did the right thing.  

[Jackie G]

We all need somewhere to come and vent, moan and wonder if we did the right thing... sometimes we know it was the right thing, but want tu share the situation with others who work in the same kind of situations to see if we're on the same wavelengths.  

The criticism should and has been levelled by a few of us at the system.  Yes, the book keeper's at fault for sending the thing by email in the first place.  But if the bosses knew this was happening, why was it allowed to continue?  So management is at fault really here.

The techie girl who read the confidential email was also at fault - but there is a nosy element in most of us, if we're honest.  But to share the fact she opened it was her own stupidity, and you were right to report it.  If she gets fired as a result, or receives a written warning, is not your fault.

And if she read that, what else has she read/opened/seen that she ought not to have?!!!

Jackie, Peer Moderator
www.iqps.org

[whitesatin]

I believe she SHOULD be fired.  If we put ourselves in the situation, how would we feel if someone came across our salary info and blabbed it around?  It's NOBODY'S business.  It's bad enough she looked when she had no business looking, but then to talk about it to others!!!!  This is a huge ethical violation.

WhiteSatin

[officeguru]

And just to jump in on the converation (albeit, a bit late)... I'm pretty sure I would have handled the situation in a similiar fashion.

Jackie is right - we all have a nosy element in all of us.  It's human nature... I have to monitor my boss' email when she's out of the office.  Currently she's out for 2 weeks - so I'm having to monitor her mail a bit closer to avoid her coming back and having to go through 200+ unread emails (ohhh she sooo would not be happy!!)

I go through her emails, handle what I can, print out FYIs so she's aware of what occurred while out, etc.  Some emails don't have confidential in the subject line (I realize the case mentioned here did)... but in reading the email I'll see that it is an issue that's confidential.  In that case, I do not print it out - but leave it marked 'unread'.  

And I rarely discuss things that come through my boss' office with any co-workers...  whether they're confidential or not.  But at no point would I mention something I'd read marked confidential... even if what I read upset me, etc.  I might mention to my boyfriend, but even that's rare.  He's very understanding if I'm upset and all I can tell him is I found out privledged information and I have to sort it/process it because it upset me.  He never pushes to know what I shouldn't repeat.

Just my take on the subject.....

[reddrogue]

I guess I didn't realize that "this was [ONLY] a place for support, not condemnation."  I thought this was a place for open communication.  If one is not interested in hearing opposite of what they want to hear, then why post it on a public internet board?  You have your opinion, I have mine, and I thought that I had just as much right to post mine as you to post yours, no?

I suppose I am surprised that anyone is surprised to find out that techies or whoever are reading "confidential" emails.  Is that not what "monitoring" email means?  I EXPECT someone other than myself and the addressee in my company to read some of my emails.  Marking it "confidential" could be a ploy to keep it from being read, and that does not work in my company.  Any random email can be opened and read at any random time.  Otherwise, monitoring is pretty ineffective, no?  Now, calling up friends and running your mouth about it is, of course, unethical, but it happens.  I guess I don't see the point of getting all upset about it and causing a stink over something that probably happens all the time behind the scenes anyway.  

[diamondlady]

Now, this is an open to the public forum and yes everyone's opinion counts.  You have a right to yours and we have a right to ours.  Just because someone may not like your opinion doesn't mean it's right or wrong, and they have that choice to choose.  Isn't it great!  

Lets stay positive here, and give critical yet a "play nice" atmosphere would be greatly appreciated on these forums. We strive hard to keep a very welcoming and warm atomosphere here on the boards, not a flame throwing war.  In fact, we rarely have them and pride ourselves on that.

So, please be aware that you are entitled to your opinion, but what matters is how you write it.  Please allow each individual to have his/her own opinion and agree to disagree.

Diamondlady
Peer Moderator