Policy on Email Cursing

I’ve done several posts on cursing in the workplace. (Click here, here, here, and here.) Wall Street firms, known for their unwritten cursing-with-abandon practices, have been under the gun lately because of all the emails that have been reviewed as part of various ongoing investigations. It’s clear Wall Streeters can curse better or worse (depending on your point of view) than sailors. Thus, according to the Wall Street Journal, firms are cracking down on profanity, especially when it comes to emails.

There is screening software designed to spot cursing emails. If the curse word is mild, the employee will get a popup warning. If the word is egregious, the email will be blocked completely. The system isn’t perfect, however. Some emails get wrongly captured. Some emails containing curse words with asterisks may or may not be caught. If an employer adopts an anti-email-cursing policy, the use of shorthand for expletives (like WTF or POS) must be considered. The policy should also cover instant messages and texts from employer-issued cell phones and Blackberrys.

Will these policies stop cursing on Wall Street? He** no! But they may keep it out of emails. The thing about emails is that they can always be found. If they are bursting with curse words, it can be embarrassing or worse when they are made public in court or otherwise. If you have an anti-cursing policy already, make sure it covers email cursing. If you don’t have a policy, it’s definitely worth considering.

One other thing that needs to be considered is the punishment for cursing. The Wall Street policies call for a slap on the wrist, unless the employee is a repeat offender and routinely uses egregious profanity. If the policy has no teeth, it’s unlikely that it will have much effect on cursing — in emails or otherwise.