Dear Dr. Kirk:
I have colleagues and acquaintances who forward me jokes and photos that I find inappropriate. I have tried asking them not to send these items as my e-mail address is through my university. However, sometimes what they think is acceptable and what I find appropriate is not the same. Any suggestions for how to politely deal with these people? Not Really A Prude But...
Dear Not A Prude,
I too have had this problem. In fact, a recent survey of trends in employee computing found that, "12 percent of employees said that they have had a co-worker, friend, or acquaintance send a link to their work email address that they considered offensive." Dave Lorenzo recently commented that he believed this number to be quite low and noted that he received "at least one item each day that is at least mildly 'blue.'"
You might create a separate personal e-mail account and ask those people to use it. Or you might block all e-mail from those sources. However, I think the best approach would be the direct one: simply e-mail them back and ask them not to send you any jokes or photos, that you are concerned you will not be perceived as professional if your chair or dean were to see these e-mails.
Anyone else have suggestions as to how to handle this?
Comments