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E-mail Policies and Procedures Decision Making Manipulation

I work in a company with about 150 employees, and one of my supervisors sent an email to all employees asking that we contribute to an overseas charity that is important to him. While the charity sounds like it is doing good things, several of us were put off by his approach. Since the request came from a supervisor, I’m not sure what I should do.



Rather than going to your wallet right now, you should go to management right now. Your supervisor’s charity may be a wonderful organization, and you might decide to make a donation, but there are some other company issues to address first, and those issues sit squarely on management’s plate.

Most companies have policies on employee solicitation, and the general approach is that there is to be no solicitation during work hours, but it can be done on a break. If your company lacks policies in this area, it would be a good idea to suggest that management fill this void immediately.

Most companies also have policies on email usage, and the message is simple: email is for company business only, and any other use is prohibited without permission from management. In addition, companies typically limit the number of people who can click on “all employees” and send an email to everyone. Perhaps your company needs to rein this in as well.

Whether you give or don’t give to your supervisor’s charity is your call, and you should do whatever you think is right. Hopefully management will do what is right as well.



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