The survey of over 2,000 UK employees, commissioned by security specialist Clearswift, suggests that even though the majority of employees are generally aware that sending inappropriate emails could be dangerous to their company, abuse of email systems continues regardless.
“The amount of inappropriate content making its way round UK businesses’ email systems is astounding,” said Jon Lee, CEO of Clearswift. “Employees need to stop and think about the trouble they could get in if these mails got into the wrong hands.”
Clearswift says the biggest question is why CEOs allow inappropriate email to flow freely, risking damage to their companies' reputations. Software filters are available, but Clearswift says it is not being used effectively and that company email policies are not being enforced.
According to the survey, only one in ten respondents said that their organisation had sacked an employee for sending inappropriate emails.
Many companies do have an email policy, but Clearswift found that only 51% of respondents fully understood their employer’s guidelines. Ten percent of respondents did not understand their company’s policy, 24% said that their companies did not have a policy and 15% of respondents did not know either way.
Emma Grossmith, an employment law specialist with Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM, agrees that employers cannot afford to ignore email and computer misuse. "Apart from the potential disaster of confidential information being leaked, employers run a real risk of being sued if emails sent to or from their employees are discriminatory or defamatory," she said.
She added: "the only real way for employers to protect themselves is by having and enforcing a clear policy for staff on how electronic systems are to be used and monitored and to train staff on that policy."
