No you shouldn’t be forwarding non-business related e-mails on company time. This goes for forwarding within the company and to outside contacts, associates or customers.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t happening — and at alarming rates. Studies reflect that the a healthy portion of employees are using company e-mail, resources and time to send non-business related forwards. Talk about a loss of productivity (and potential liability for employers)!
Then, to add insult to injury, these time-wasters aren’t even taking the time for forward properly! Are there irresponsible forwarders at your place of business?
- Is the topic of the forward appropriate for the work place? Religious, political, humorous (subjective) or adult topical material are just a few examples of what shouldn’t be disseminated through a company’s network. And no, adding NSFW (Not Safe For Work) to the Subject: field does not make it “okay”.
- Do they add all their contacts to a forward without thinking if it will be of interest to each individual and whether they really need the forward or not?
- Do they get defensive when anyone dare ask they not be on their forward list?
- Do they just forward without vetting the message first to make sure it is true and legitimate at Snopes.com or TruthOrFiction.com before perpetrating a possible hoax?
The above are just a few signs of business time wasters. If you answered yes to any of the above issues; your organization needs to get an e-mail policy in place — yesterday. [Read: Why your Business Needs an E-mail Policy]
Minimally having a meeting to discuss the topic and that the above bad habits are not acceptable is in order. The perceived level of professionalism and credibility of your organization is diminished and the time to rehabilitate the possible negative impact these activities and communications may create are just profit drains.
In a day where every penny and action counts towards a businesses ability to be profitable, unnecessary and non-business related forwarding is one thing every business can do to increase efficiency and minimize liabilities today. How about we get on that?
Some More Info for You:
![[Business E-mail Etiquette eBook]](http://www.businessemailetiquette.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/bee-2012-100x140.png)
![[Take The Email Etiquette Pledge]](http://www.emailetiquettepledge.com/ee-rev-medium.jpg)
