Monitoring Employee E-mails: Is There Any Room for Privacy?

Executive Overview This paper reviews the current knowledge about e-mail monitoring and draws conclusions for practice. The discussion entails justifications for employers' e-mail monitoring along with an analysis of supporting statutory and case law, Web-based private e-mails, and international implications of e-mail monitoring. The paper also provides evidence of work outcomes of e-mail monitoring regarding employee attitudes and behaviors such as organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and performance. The paper explores these considerations within the framework of existing research evidence and presents practical implications not only for e-mail monitoring, but also potentially for the broader issue of privacy in the workplace.