This document discusses employer policies around employee use of email and the internet at work. It notes that excessive personal use can account for 30-40% of lost productivity. Employers generally have the legal right to monitor employee communications and internet activity done using company resources. Failure to comply with employer policies regarding appropriate use may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination, especially if the communications contain discriminatory, harassing or inappropriate content. Employees are advised to be aware of and adhere to their company's specific policies regarding personal use of email and internet at work.

1. E-Mail and Internet
Privacy at Work

2. E-Mail and Internet Issues
Cyber-loafing accounts for 30% to
40% of lost worker productivity.

3. E-Mail and Internet Issues
As much as 70% of traffic on porn
sites occurs during work hours.

4. E-Mail and Internet Issues
Check your company’s policy on
e-mail and Internet use at work.

5. Employer Policies

6. Employer Policies
Be aware of your company’s employee
conduct policy.

7. Employer Policies
Your company reserves the right to
read and monitor all communications
made by employees at work.

8. Employer Policies
An employee conduct policy restricts
personal use of company property to
“reasonable” use.

9. Employer Policies
Some companies prohibit any personal
use, which is perfectly legal.

10. Employer Policies
The use of company resources
is subject to the company’s
no-harassment and
no-discrimination policies.

11. Employer Policies
Nearly three-fourths of major
U.S. companies are recording and
reviewing some aspect of their
employees’ communications.

12. Employer Policies
About 40% of companies are using
Web-monitoring software to record
and track employees’ Web activities.

13. The Law

14. The Law
The courts have generally upheld an
employer’s right to review or monitor
their employees’ use of Internet and
e-mail.

15. The Law
Employees don’t have an expectation of
privacy even when the company assures
it will not intercept communications.

16. The Law
Because all communication equipment
belongs to the employer, it has the
right to access and review information
on it.

17. Lawsuits

18. Lawsuits
A major newspaper fired 23
employees for e-mailing distasteful
jokes.

19. Lawsuits
A major chemical company fired 50
workers and disciplined 200 more for
transmitting pornography through
employee e-mail.

20. Lawsuits
Work-related e-mails on someone’s
home computer were subpoenaed in a
lawsuit involving a major airline.

21. Lawsuits
E-mail has become one of the richest
sources of information used against
employers and managers in lawsuits.

22. Lawsuits
E-mail that contains discriminatory or
sexually harassing material is
becoming commonplace at work.

23. Lawsuits
It generally takes more than one
e-mail to support a claim of a hostile
environment in a court of law.

24. Productivity: A Big Issue

25. Productivity: A Big Issue
As many as 70% of a leading
brokerage firm’s customers do their
online trading from their office desks.

26. Productivity: A Big Issue
Productivity could potentially become
the biggest casualty of indiscriminate
Internet use.

27. Productivity: A Big Issue
Know and stay within your company’s
guidelines for e-mail and Internet use.

28. Productivity: A Big Issue
Be aware that e-mail and Internet use
can add up and eventually show up in
your company’s monitoring system.

29. Productivity: A Big Issue
Check your company policy for
guidelines of e-mail and Internet use.

30. Productivity: A Big Issue
Take personal responsibility for how
you spend your time.

31. Using Others’ Equipment

32. Using Others’ Equipment
Never log on to a system as someone
else.

33. Using Others’ Equipment
Never log on to someone else’s hard
drive or access his or her system
without approval.

34. Summary of Risks

35. Summary of Risks
It is your responsibility to examine the
contents of your communications.

36. Summary of Risks
Ensure your communications do not
violate the policies of your employer.

37. Summary of Risks
Be aware that anything that passes
through your fingertips into
cyberspace may be discovered.

38. Summary of Risks
Your employer owns your e-mail and
Internet resources and can legally use
them to find out information about
you.

39. Summary of Risks
Your employer’s resources are to be
used productively.

40. Summary of Risks
Redirecting those resources excessively
towards personal use not aligned with
the company’s goal may result in
termination.

41. Staying Out of Trouble

42. Staying Out of Trouble
Read your company’s e-mail and
Internet policy.

43. Staying Out of Trouble
Assume your boss is reading your
e-mail or looking over your Web usage.

44. Staying Out of Trouble
Do not send jokes or subscribe to a joke
list at work.

45. Staying Out of Trouble
Start limiting your time spent on
personal usage of the Web, including
e-mail.

46. Staying Out of Trouble
Avoid emotional comments and
sarcasm. Focus on objective, verifiable
facts.

47. Staying Out of Trouble
Do not e-mail employee problems to
human resources or management. Call
instead.

48. The Family Test
Ask yourself whether you’d be saying
or doing the same thing in front of
your family.

49. The Newspaper Test
Would you say or do the same thing
even if it was published on the front
page of the newspaper?

50. Staying Out of Trouble
Nearly one-third of companies in a poll
have fired workers for improper
Internet use, and two-thirds have had to
do some disciplining.

51. E-Mail and Internet
Privacy at Work