Online and out of line – stop putting up with misuse of email and social media

Employees’ sometimes outlandish abuse of email and social media protocols in the workplace demands a response from employers, writes Kriss Will.

I am surprised at the amount of information people are willing to communicate, share and store via their work email. The workplace-related comments that people feel are appropriate to communicate via their private social media accounts are also a shock to me.

Email is not Me-mail

Let us start with email. I really thought we were past having to remind people that employers can access and read work emails. Those emails are also stored by the employer, and remain the property of the employer. In 2017, one would think that everyone realised the need to have a private, personal email address, as well as a work one. Obviously not!

In training sessions about appropriate email usage, I previously used a hard-copy mail analogy to make my point: “Would you use the workplace as your postal address and have all your hard-copy mail directed to the office, knowing it would be opened by the mailroom or the receptionist on delivery?” Of course not, so think the same way about your email – use a private one.

That scenario was clearly before the explosion of online shopping and the role that business premises now play in the receipt of personal parcels! Sometimes I wonder if the regression to the use of work emails for personal use is somehow correlated to the increase in Peter’s of Kensington boxes arriving at workplaces across the nation (for those who do not know, Peter’s is a popular homewares store).

At the risk of stating the obvious, the following communications via a work-provided email account are not appropriate:

• Engaging in an expletive-laden argument with family members (certain words are usually blacklisted via workplace computer system filters and I would suggest that putting one word, in particular, in print to anyone via any email system is plain dumb).
• Organising the location for the pickup of a weekend supply of illegal ‘party’ drugs.
• Working out rendezvous locations for lunchtime sex, complete with explicit details of your sexual desires.
• Email-related policies usually make it very clear that emails sent on the work email system remain the property of the employer. Yet when discussions ensue in relation to inappropriate use of work email, employees often act surprised that their non-work-related emails sent from their work email account are of concern to the workplace.

Anti-social media

I also wonder if people have lost track of who their online ‘friends’ are. Or is it that they think their Facebook friends will all agree with everything they say, and for some reason they think these online ‘friends’, unlike real life friends, will not discuss their online conduct behind their backs? Why else would people think the following situations would remain ‘private’:

• A person suggests online that everyone in their workplace is “low on IQ and high on vacuousness” (at least five Facebook friends raised this comment with their manager at work).
• An employee provides tips to their friends on how to get a fake online medical certificate, (otherwise known as fraud). The statement that a certificate costs “only GBP£10.99, which is about $20AU, via a reputable website that I have used myself a few times” was read by the person’s manager, and led to conversations about acceptable conduct.
• An employee makes a veiled threat against a colleague, stating that she had “better watch herself, or else” (this was reported by all workplace colleagues who were ‘friends’, out of concern for the safety of the colleague).
• A worker suggests that as part of an induction a new staff member will be sexually harassed. Little v Credit Group Ltd [2013] FWC 6942 provides details about this manager, whose comments were clearly inappropriate and which illustrate the point that just because an employee has the position title of ‘manager’ does not make them a good manager. In fact, Mr Little knew all about his employer’s social media policies and, according to the Fair Work Commission in its ruling on a subsequent (and unsuccessful) unfair dismissal claim, this manager had good knowledge of expectations, having successfully completed online training modules.

There will always be people who do not understand their obligations in relation to social media. However, I think in an ever-increasing online world a reiteration (not just a refresher) is needed to make it clear to people that there are different expectations of conduct in a workplace compared with conduct in private life.

It is all about political correctness…

Sometimes people make comments about ‘political correctness’ and claim that workplace conduct expectations are just too onerous. It is important, however, to make a distinction between work and private conduct.

For example, I encourage people to think about their dress standards for work (it is usually different to what they would wear at home – I have never walked around a workplace in my underwear); the way they speak at work (maybe less swearing than at home?) and how they interact respectfully and inclusively with people from a range of backgrounds (I suggest many workplaces are more diverse than their family and friendship groups).

Work is different. People need work to earn an income to provide for their private life commitments and, given the necessity and importance of work, it is crucial that employees understand the necessity of conducting themselves in a way that makes their impact at work at the very least lawful and respectful, and hopefully also friendly and inclusive.

I would suggest that many of us, me included, have a work persona. At home, I am with ‘my people’ – family and friends who will challenge and argue with me at the drop of a hat if they disagree with my views, my conduct and even my choice of attire! They do so from a position of equality. We are family and friends and, yes, we can ‘sack’ each other, but at the end of the day none of this is likely to have an impact on my income.

At home, there is also the luxury of choosing your friends and managing contact with family members with whom you do not get along. This luxury is not afforded to you in the workplace when you work day to day with a range of people.

So remember that respectful personal and online conduct is not political correctness; rather, in my books the PC stands for ‘polite’ and ‘courteous’, and polite and courteous conduct certainly helps to underpin an inclusive workplace culture.

Where to now?

I think induction training, education on appropriate workplace behaviour, clear policies and ongoing reminders are important if the risks around emails and social media are to be successfully managed. We need to reiterate the need to “get a private email account for all your private communication”. Maybe we should make it compulsory so people do not feel drawn to the convenience of their work email accounts.

In relation to social media, people need to be reminded and educated that their digital footprint is their own, and that this footprint can make a positive, or negative, impression at work. I have an analogy that I think still works when it comes to online commentary: “If you are going to type something online (and therefore create a record) about work related to a colleague, workplace change, a client or a supplier, is it something you would write on a whiteboard in the reception area of your office, with your name signed underneath. If the answer is “no”, stop typing.

Kriss Will is a law firm management consultant and the founder of Kriss Will Consulting. She can be contacted at kriss@kwillconsult.com.au.

If you do not have an appropriate email usage policy, look for some Australian examples online. Here are two useful examples: http://www.monash.edu/policy-bank/management/its/it-use-policy-staff-and-authorised and https://cits.curtin.edu.au/local/docs/ICT-AppropriateUse.pdf.

If you are looking for a good starting point for a social media policy, try this ABC policy: http://about.abc.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/SocialMediaPOL.pdf