The Memo Condundrum

Remember my short and abrupt memo from a few weeks ago? It is still on my mind. No personal use of company email. Period. I sound like a Nazi English teacher.

I wanted to leave no room for misunderstanding, but in doing so I took the humanity out of it. It is not just about clarity and well-defined rules: it sounds terrible. It reads like a rule for a 3 year old. End of discussion.

I guess what it comes down to is whether I trust the staff to use their own good judgment about what is appropriate use of company email. Some personal use is to be expected, I guess, but I still don’t think it belongs in the company server. And the memo was in response to a department head who said her staff needed to be reminded about personal use and language. Maybe I should have sent the memo just to her staff. And I could have addressed the specifics that prompted her to call me. Oh, sure, now I think of it!

But back to the black & white rule vs. the “use your good judgment” rule. Employers have learned that for most employees, treating them with some leeway for decision making and creativity results in more engaged, productive, and happy employees. All good. It takes hiring the right ones in the first place, but we’ve discussed all that. Setting hard & fast rules squelches creativity and imitative: so if you need neither, I guess it is OK. But don’t your employees feel like they’re being treated like children? “Don’t cross the street” is a no room for argument rule designed to keep your child safe. Other than safety regs, is there really a business equivalent?

Ignoring the grey areas ignores the humanity involved. Latitude is often a good thing when dealing with employees. Except when it is favoritism or discrimination and you get sued. You see the problem?

Welcome to the wonderful world of human resources.

So here goes:
MEMO REGARDING USE OF COMPANY EMAIL
As you all know, the email system is company property and, as such, must be used for company business and in line with the company’s values, especially “Respect for all.”

Some recent emails have contained unprofessional and disrespectful language, and that is absolutely not OK. If you have a problem with a coworker please bring it to my attention so that it can be addressed responsibly.

Other recent emails have been jokes that are not appropriate for the workplace, and those have to stop, too. No one will think you are a social outcast if you delete a joke email. In fact, if you receive something of that nature from a friend, get them to change your email address on their list to your home address.

Final point: email contents are discoverable for lawsuits and therefore the company needs to have access to them at all times. You should have no expectation of privacy when using the company email system.
Any questions? See me.

Yeah, that’s better.