As email has become an increasingly vital communications tool in the workplace, more employers have been turning their attention to the way in which employees are using the office email system. Over the years, employer screening of employee email messages has grown steadily. According to the 2001 American Management Association Survey on Workplace Monitoring and Surveillance, 46.5% of major U.S. companies monitor their employees’ email messages, up from 27% in 1999 and 14.9% in 1997.

In light of recent concerns about terrorism and the damaging employee email transmissions making the news in the Arthur Andersen/Enron matter, it is natural even for employers who are reluctant to monitor to perceive email monitoring as a necessary evil in today’s world. With the wide variety of monitoring software on the marketplace at a relatively low cost, surveillance capability has become more accessible than ever before.

While it may be tempting for a company to embrace email screening as a panacea for its concerns, the reality is not so simple. While monitoring can be a valuable tool for some employers, organizations that monitor email activity without careful attention to the goals and extent of the surveillance run the risk of significant legal and human resources problems. These problems could potentially outweigh the benefits of any information uncovered. Excessive monitoring may not only violate individual privacy rights, but can also lead to negativity and suspicion in the workplace.

Purposes of monitoring

Companies considering whether or not to screen employee emails should first analyze their purposes in conducting the surveillance. For many employers, the primary issue is security, both protecting the safety of employees and customers and ensuring that confidential information is not transmitted to unauthorized third parties. Companies may also want to determine that individuals are working productively on company time rather than sending personal messages from the office.

In addition, inappropriate or illegal emails can expose an organization to significant legal liabilities. In recent court cases, employee email messages have been presented as evidence in claims of discrimination, sexual harassment and other unlawful activities. Since deleted messages remain in the company’s electronic archives, an incriminating message can come back to haunt an employer months or years after initial transmission.

Not all of these factors will apply to every company. Organizations that clearly understand the specific business interests that they wish to address will be better able to determine the scope of their monitoring activities and credibly communicate to employees the reasons for the screening.

Extent of screening

Companies that decide to monitor emails should carefully consider the extent of the screening they plan to conduct. Email screening can vary widely in scope. Some companies conduct random spot checks of messages. Others will look only at transmittals by and to individuals who they suspect of some wrongdoing. Many employers use software that scans employee emails for certain keywords that are likely to signal a harassing or discriminatory message, or the transmittal of proprietary information. A growing number of companies subject all employee emails to continuous surveillance.

Employers should limit the scope of their screening to that which is necessary to achieve their legitimate business purposes. While employees generally do not have the right to email privacy in the workplace, overly intrusive monitoring without legitimate business purpose is more likely to give rise to invasion of privacy and “hostile environment” lawsuits. Excessive surveillance can also be damaging to employee morale and productivity, and lead to a loss of trust in the integrity of the organization.

Communicate and Educate

Whether or not a company decides to monitor employee email transmissions, the best way to ensure consistent, sound email practices in the workplace is to consistently communicate company expectations to employees.

The linchpin of effective communication is a sound email policy, distributed regularly to the workforce. The policy should state that the email system is company property, inform individuals whether personal email use is permitted and clearly explain the rules governing use of the system. If the organization monitors email, the policy should state this, including the business reasons for doing so and the circumstances under which the monitoring will take place.

In addition, the employer must educate its workforce on a continuing basis as to responsible use of the email system and the problems that can arise when the system is abused. Most employees that send inappropriate email messages do not do so intentionally. Usually, they do not understand that email transmissions are not private documents, that their messages do not “disappear” when deleted and that improper use of the system can open both the company and the individual to potential legal exposure and embarrassment.