Employee E-Mail Use: Big Brother May Be Watching

According to a recent U.S. survey by the American Management Association (AMA), 26% of employers have terminated employees for e-mail misuse. Another 2% have terminated employees for inappropriate instant messenger chat and 2% have terminated employees for posting offensive blog content from a company or home computer. Other surveys have shown that employers regularly audit outbound email and employ staff that read and analyze outbound e-mail content.

In Canada, e-mail monitoring by employers is on the rise. Companies are spending both the time and money to ensure that employees are using e-mail appropriately. Advances in technology allow employers unprecedented opportunity to monitor employees. Common reasons for monitoring include: safeguarding confidential information, preventing harassment, discrimination or misconduct in the workplace, improving productivity, and preventing downloading of pirated software. In extreme situations, misuse of email could constitute criminal activity