Blog 2 - Email Privacy in the Workplace

As technology usage grows, so does the ethical concerns related to email usage and privacy. In my workplace, employees are asked to acknowledge a policy related to email usage in the workplace.  It is part of a bigger policy addressing internet, email, electronic communications, and information security. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that employees use company computer systems and applications in a legal, ethical, and appropriate manner. The policy also aims to safeguard employees, company assets, and company information.

As a company with over 750 locations across the US and Canada, we rely heavily on email communication. The policy helps to inform employees about email usage and how to utilize sound judgment pertaining to this form of communication.  

The policy also specifies what is considered a harassing or harmful email, what would be considered offensive or inappropriate, and what could be portrayed as harmful. Through these standards, employees are able to understand and recognize what would be considered inappropriate in nature. Also addressed is the concern related to malicious emails. Email is often a target of attack for a company. Spam, spoofing, hyperlinks, and phishing all pose threats to the company, the employees, and its data. Through policies and standards, employees are made aware of these potential threats.

Limited personal use of email is expected and allowed at my company, as long as it is not abused. With this privilege comes the understanding and the expectations related to privacy.  Employees understand that no expectation of privacy exists in any information they send or receive with a company computer or email.  The company has the right to gain access to employee email at any time with or without consent. It is this understanding that helps to protect the company and employees from the misuse of email. 

The study E-MAIL PRIVACY IN THE WORKPLACE - A Boundary Regulation Perspective by Jason L. Snyder, examined employee perception and response related to email monitoring in the workplace. Although companies need to, and are allowed to, monitor employee email usage to protect themselves, the study shares a common perception of a typical employee. According to the study, email monitoring can lead “to a lack of trust in one’s supervisor and organization’s top management. Thus, when employees feel a reduced sense of e-mail privacy as a result of a perceived increase in e-mail monitoring, they are likely to conclude that they are not trusted and are likely not to trust others in the workplace. This can create an unhealthy work environment characterized by a lack of trust”(Snyder, page 276).   The author further states that “it is important to keep in mind that organizations often have good intentions for e-mail monitoring, such safeguarding their own legal interests and protecting employees from harassment”(page 276). This is a balance that the company needs to manage.  I believe that through proper communication setting the expectations related to privacy, employees should understand why a company needs to protect themselves.

Much like my company’s policy related to email usage, the author states that “while this study focused on e-mail monitoring and feelings of privacy, there are many technologies that people use for workplace communication. As the use of new communication technologies such as instant messaging, social networking sites, and corporate blogs becomes more prevalent in the American workplace, they present interesting paths for inquiry for business communication researchers” (Snyder, page 289).

Some interesting cases related to this topic include: Smyth v. Pillsbury, Falmouth Firefighters Union v. Town of Falmouth, and Holmes v. Petrovich Development Company, LLC.

Based on an article from the Monthly Labor Review from back in 2003, employees’ perceptions  at that time were very interesting. According to the study, “almost 55 percent of employees thought that their employers were not monitoring either their Internet usage or the e-mails they sent and received. Further-more, only 57 percent thought that employers should have the right to monitor their employees’ Internet and e-mail usage” (Muhl, page 2). Below are results from a survey conducted then:

A link to the article this came from is below – it offers interesting viewpoints as well as a good look at the change in viewpoint from then until now.

http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2003/02/art3full.pdf 

References:

Muhl, Charles J. Workplace e-mail and Internet use: employees and employers beware. Monthly Labor Review February 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2015. http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2003/02/art3full.pdf

Snyder, Jason L. 2010. E-MAIL PRIVACY IN THE WORKPLACE A Boundary Regulation Perspective. Central Connecticut State University. Journal of Business Communication, Volume 47, Number 3, July 2010 266-294. Retrieved June 19, 2015. http://content.ebscohost.com.library.esc.edu/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=54903037&S=R&D=bth&EbscoContent=dGJyMMTo50Sep7c4yOvsOLCmr02eprdSr6e4SLOWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGttEqvqrVKuePfgeyx43zx.