E-mail issues in the workplace

E-mail is an amazing and cheap tool in order to communicate with people.  However, when used within the workplace there are some E-mail issues which users must be aware of.  If users or companies do not address these issues, they could find themselves in an ethical or legal quandary.  Some of the issues are highlighted below:

Privacy

Employees sometimes make the assumption that their e-mails are private.  However, this is not necessarily the case.  It is not been uncommon for employers routinely monitor employee e-mails sent from company accounts or computers.  Therefore, when sending e-mails from a workplace account you must ensure that the e-mails are restricted to business use and that you communicate in an appropriate manner.

Use of Language

Within the previous assessment criteria there were certain guidelines which users should adopt when sending e-mails.  Users must be aware that using inappropriate or offensive language could get them in trouble.  For example, if inappropriate language is used through e-mail communications it reflects negatively on the company and could drive away prospective customers or tarnish the company’s image. Also, if an employee makes statements or promises using company e-mail, the recipient may consider that anything the employee says represents the company’s views, and that anything promised is binding.

Integrity of Company Computer Systems

As many people are now finding so much of their time at work, many users use their work computers to send or check their own personal e-mails.  However, some companies prohibit or restrict personal e-mail within the workplace.  The reason for this is that it distracts employees or it could threaten the company’s computer systems,  For instance, using workplace computers to send large files could slow down the company’s network.

Security Threats

Personal use also increases the risk of computer viruses.  For example, in May 2000 ILOVEYOU virus was an e-mail that contained an attachment.  People who accessed the attachment by double clicking on it launched the virus code.  It then sent copies of itself to everyone in the victims address book and started corrupting files on the victims machine.

E-mail issues in the workplace

In IT companies, usually e-mail accounts are private and bosses can monitor sent emails. Therefore these email accounts are only for business use. Remove inappropriate offensive language because it can give bad image to customers. The promises or statements of an employee are linked to the company and care must be taken in the language. Non-company email accounts can affect the integrity of the company’s network systems and can provide a large virus threat and theft of sensitive information.