Week of July 12th- Workplace Email privacy

[andream]

Welcome to a new week and another new issue. this week let's look at E-Mail privacy in your workplace.

Does your employer have the right to read your e-mail? Courts in the US and the UK say, yes they do, as long as they've done some things namely a "distruction of the expectation of privacy" (in short, telling you that your email is going to be monitored via a clearly written policy that is uniformly enforced company wide).

In some companies all keystrokes are logged with flags being sent out when certain words are typed.  In some cases these words are those which might prove offensive, or leave the employer open to liability such as words having to do with sex, or racial epithets.   In other cases the logging flags up specific words which might be related to company work product or security.

In other companies E-Mail is scanned on it's way out and in and can be blocked based on the filters which are set. We know of one case where a salesman was interviewing for a new job, foolishly using his e-mail at his existing employer to communicate.  The employer during monitoring caught the e-mail and simply blocked it. Then terminated the employee based on the information they had obtained from this e-mail that the salesman was planning to leave their employ.

So this week's question:  Does your workplace have a clearly written policy on the acceptable usage of E-mail?

Has your employer read your E-Mail without your permission?

Do you work in a company where every keystroke is being logged and reported on?

Did that salesman deserve to lose his existing  job because he had been communicating with another employer?

What's your little  corner of  cyber space like?

do tell...

Andrea

[uberpa]

My company does have a clearly defined policy and does quarantine emails with attachments and won't allow encrypted documents to be sent.  However, they do not monitor key strokes but they can monitor usage of the internet and individual emails by special order.

Most of the companies I have worked for have had some sort of policy but have been so small they couldn't effectively monitor email because of lack of technology.

I believe they have the right to monitor email as it is the security and reputation of the company, the keystroke thing and internet usage I agree with less as I feel it's a bit facist unless someone is truly abusing it by not doing any work at all and just playing on the internet all day.

As for using your work email for private issues.  I do use mine a little to converse with my husband and parents as it's easier but I wouldn't job hunt using my company email.

Basically if you know the company policy you use their email at your own risk.

[countrigal]

Our e-mail is monitored and may be read, but it hasn't gone as far as flagging for specific words and such.  Our policy completely covers the use of e-mail and that it's not "yours" but the company's, so they're covered there.  As for the gentleman losing his job because of an e-mail communication where he was looking for a job.... here that would never fly.  E-mail may be used for limited personal communications, which this would have been one of, and as long as he was not sending and receiving personal e-mails for hours, it would not have been punishable or he would at least have a strong argument on his side.

CountriGal
Peer Moderator

[sobriquetnic]

Hi there

As far as I know, our company does have a limited policy on emails e.g. warnings in our staff manual that it may be monitored, but having also worked in IT, I know that we simply do not have the resources to track the emails in the way you mentioned.  A bigger concern for us is the Internet sites visited by our staff, but again, this is not monitored at all.

I know that my work email is liable to be read, e.g. when I am away so I never use it for personal use.  For the gentleman that applied for another job using his, I would have personally used another email address.

Our sister company once dismissed someone because they did monitor emails and had found out that she had been emailing about another colleague and in a not very complimentary fashion!

All the best,
Nicola.

[catsmeat]

We do have a filtering system in place, but sometimes it's over-zealous.  It filters on key words; result, one very confused chap wondering why his e-mail mentioning Greg Dyke got blocked!

[sobriquetnic]

"one very confused chap wondering why his e-mail mentioning Greg Dyke got blocked!"

Thanks Catsmeat - that really made me chuckle!  

All the best,
Nicola.

[mathwhizchick]

I work for a LARGE corporation in the Midwest and yes, our email is monitored, complete with appropriately worded CYA that pops up each and every time you log on telling you that ALL your email will be monitored.  While I do not know exactly what they have, I am sure they have most of the latest and greatest filters, word flags, etc, etc in place.  Can they monitor each and every email from every single employee?  Absolutely.  Do they?  Probably not.  It's a matter of keeping a record of it in the event that something comes up, either through HR, Counsel, Security, or somewhere else.   For example, I am on a peer review board sponsored by HR, and emails are routinely pulled and used in hearings, on both sides.

As far as I'm concerned, it's their game and their rules (within whatever city/state/federal law restrictions), so if I want to work here and reap the benefits of my salary, benefits and great boss, then I need to be able/willing to abide by the rules of their game.  If you want to have *complete freedom* in your email, then you will need to do it at home on your own personal email.

I used to work for Big Blue (in one of their big sales centers), when I lived in Atlanta.  Those folks were PARANOID, with minute scrutiny with all the big security gadgets complete with whistles and bells.   After that, every other company has been *small fry* compared to the security demands of Big Blue.  I feel positively UNFETTERED with my current company, compared to Big Blue.... *grin*

;-)

[tinkerbell]

We have an internet and e-mail policy which states that the company accepts use for non-business related activities which should be occasional and, wherever possible, outside normal working hours.  E-mail is also monitored and screened for viruses and dodgy words/attachments etc

I believe this is a fair policy.  Like uberpa says, the company is looking after its security and reputation.  I’m lucky enough to have a PC at home but it’s like some personal telephone calls, some e-mail communication has to be made during the working day.  Trust is a key thing between employer and employee but unfortunately the minority who abuse these privileges can make it worse for the majority.

I don’t think the salesman deserved to lose his existing job.  How can you sack someone for trying to leave?  He should have been given a warning first for not thinking through his actions.

[bethalize]

I can accept a monitoring policy but what I don't accept is a monitoring policy that is secret or even one that exists but they deny that it does. That's not ethical, that's entrapment and very untrustworthy. I hate that we now have CCTV in the corridors at work.

Bethalize
Peer Moderator