Send in Anger, Repent Forever

Gartner says the one obvious way to survive what it calls the "e-maelstrom" is to apply greater discipline. E-mail senders, it says, have an obligation to make life easier for the recipients of their messages, while receivers must be rigorous in checking and processing incoming mail. And all must be aware of the potential for e-mail to come back and haunt you. "The IS organisation needs to lay down guidelines for the way e-mail is used throughout the enterprise and ensure that all staff members receive the necessary training," advises Gartner. It points to future innovation from dominant mailers - such as Microsoft - that will better characterise e-mail and improve routing and handling.

While we wait, some analysts recommend employers take a three-step approach to reducing e-mail headaches to help turn e-mail from foe back to friend. It involves a written e-mail and Internet use policy, content filtering software and an ongoing employee education program to help keep online employees in line.

By using e-mail, companies face several threats, Flynn notes. These range from legal threats to network congestion, and embrace the potential for legal liability, confidentiality breaches, damage to reputation, lost productivity, network congestion and downtime and being forced to retrieve e-mails in response to a court order. Companies should reduce electronic liabilities by notifying employees in writing that the company will not tolerate the electronic sending, receiving or viewing of offensive material.

"No workplace ever can be 100 per cent safe from e-mail risks. But with a written e-policy, filtering software and employee education, employers take big strides toward reducing e-risks, increasing productivity and protecting corporate assets," Flynn says. Employers should implement, disseminate and enforce e-mail and Internet use policies that are tailored to their specific business needs.

According to Flynn, the e-mail policy must explicitly describe both permitted and prohibited uses of the employer's e-mail and Internet systems, and make clear that employees do not have an expectation of privacy in their e-mail and Internet use. It should spell out that employees' business and personal e-mail or Internet communications can or will be accessed or monitored by the company. "Employers may need to review employee e-mail or Internet traffic during internal investigations or to prevent employee abuse of its systems. To accomplish these goals, employers need to familiarise themselves with the latest variations of e-mail and Internet filtering software, as well as stay abreast of the developing law in this area," Flynn says.