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Teresa M. Thompson

Teresa M. Thompson Employment & Labor

tthompson@fredlaw.com
612.492.7347
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Email and Online Etiquette: What Employers and Employees Need to Know

By: TERESA M. THOMPSON

July 2008

Everyone has some awareness that email is not a particularly safe mode of communication and that you should refrain from sending confidential information over an email server. Most people also know that once you click “send,” you have created a permanent record of that correspondence.

Despite this, employees, managers, and owners continue to use work email as a mode of informal communication for both work and non-work related reasons. Most organizations today could not function without email and, realistically, employers cannot prevent all personal use.

Employees receive, on average, 60 to 200 emails per day. Most of those emails are work related, but some are likely personal, or a blend of work and play. This interconnectivity does not come without a price. A 2005 survey conducted by the American Management Association and the ePolicy Institute demonstrated that of the participants:

  • 25 percent had terminated employees for email misuse,
  • 13 percent of those same employers have been involved in litigation triggered by an employee’s use of email, and
  • 20 percent of the employers  have had email subpoenaed in litigation.

Indeed, every piece of litigation that comes across my desk includes an email discovery issue. In every instance, email correspondence either helps or, more likely, significantly hurts the defense of the case. In some instances, the newly discovered email results in new theories or claims against the employer or employee.

Just as managers and supervisors must be trained to recognize and manage employee misuse and abuse of workplace technology, employees need to be trained on what is and is not appropriate online behavior.

The Informality of Email and the Internet Contributes to Increased Risk


The Internet is largely anonymous. Thus, people lose their inhibitions when writing email or blogging online. With one click the email goes into the cyberworld without a second thought. The informality of email supports this “lack of filter” phenomenon. Disgruntled current and former employees cannot resist the temptation to blast employers or co-workers on personal blogs, write angry emails to coworkers, or leak the employer’s confidential information online.

The lack of filter also spills over from personal use to everyday business use. Business communication through email, for example, has almost replaced formal written correspondence, providing immediate connections between businesses and their customers and between  employees and their co-workers. Despite its informality, email creates a more permanent written record than other forms of communication, creating potential for liability due to its predictable, traceable storage.

Decrease Risk with Email and Online Etiquette Training


Email is a valuable tool for any organization. It enables users to communicate a broad range of complex ideas, quickly, easily, and regardless of schedule or geographical disparities. Email is also, however, arguably the most dangerous and invasive communication tool invented to date. Employers need to educate employees and supervisors about the ramifications of improper correspondence. These ramifications can be as simple as misunderstandings between employees and/or supervisors or hurt feelings that can impact employee morale, or as significant as legal liability for improper disclosure of confidential information or online conduct amounting to harassment.

While this list is not all-inclusive, online and email training should include some of the following points:

  1. There is no such thing as a private email. Don’t send anything by email that you would not want posted on the company bulletin board or uncovered by your competitor or an employee during litigation.
    • Do not use email to discuss confidential information.
    • Never send personal information via email. This raises a variety of legal concerns and liabilities.
  2. As an employee, you have no expectation of privacy in your email communications.
    • Be aware that most organizations have the capability to, and do in fact, monitor usage of company-provided technology.
  3. Be aware of how you communicate via email so your message is not misinterpreted. Communication between humans is approximately 90 percent body language, 8 percent tone of voice, and 2 percent spoken words. With email, 98 percent of the communication’s context is no longer in play.
    • Email is a business communication - avoid the temptation to be overly casual.
    • Do not send emails that reflect badly upon you or the organization you represent. Avoid all chain emails!
    • Do not send inappropriate emails with a company computer ( that is, emails containing offensive, derogatory, or profane language).
    • Be careful of excessive punctuation, ALL-CAPITALIZED letters, or enlarged font sizes. The impact can be negatively misinterpreted by the person receiving your email message.
    • If you are hesitant or unwilling to say something to someone in person, do not send the message in an email.
    • Avoid putting a supervisor’s name in the cc: or bcc: field regarding an unpleasant conflict with another employee, especially if this is the first time your recipient is made aware of a conflict.

These educational ideas only touch upon the training necessary for all employees, supervisors, and business owners to understand the impact and potential repercussions of communicating via email. Most employers do not think about etiquette protocols until it is too late, that is, after they discover potentially damaging emails or other electronic data during litigation. This data can take many forms, including internal “strategy” discussions about business deals, “banter” between two employees regarding another employee or supervisor, or messages between an employee and supervisor suggesting an improper relationship. If you have questions or concerns about your organization’s use of email, please contact a member of Fredrikson & Byron’s Employment & Labor Group for assistance.

Takeaway


Don’t wait until it is too late to protect against future liability. Just as managers and supervisors must be trained to recognize and manage employee misuse and abuse of workplace technology, employees need to be trained on what is and is not appropriate online behavior.