What’s worse than having someone overhear you saying something you shouldn’t have said? Sending an email to the last person who should receive it. These blunders may either be embarrassing, or they can be social suicide; if it is a sensitive issue which is related to your work (such as that lambasting remark about your superior which you thought you sent to your coworker at the next table), you could get the axe just like that and find yourself collecting welfare support for the next couple of weeks.
Unfortunately, clicking the send button for that fatal email is no different to entering Hades (abandon all hope, all ye who enter here) – once you’re in, you’re in; there is no quick fix to it. Sure, programs like Microsoft Outlook have recall features built in for situations like these, but your recall reflects on the other person’s account, fueling his or her burning desire to see what the message was all about even more. There’s no quick fix here, apart from observing discretion, and taking measures to ensure that such messages don’t get to the wrong person; at the very least, you can compose it with enough ambiguity that the person wouldn’t suspect that he or she is the subject of it.
You shouldn’t say anything disparaging or gossipy at all through email anyway, no matter how pissed off you are at your co-worker for weaseling out on that last project you both took the credit for. Email messages are as good as written in stone even if you sent it to the intended recipient, as the paper trail leads directly to you; you can’t claim anonymity if your user id is stamped on the message. And don’t even think that you’re enjoying an immeasurable degree of privacy with emails either; there’s no such thing. Some email systems allow the administrator with access to any and all of the email massages exchanged within the network, and with such an arrangement, your fate lies in the hand of an indiscreet few.
Your company may also be among many others who monitor employee emails; despite your protestations in aid of the first amendment, the company has the legal right to do so since it’s their resources your using, and they have the right to ensure that you are not squandering paid hours sending frivolous messages, and that you’re not secretly looking for a job or leaking company secrets at the company’s expense. Limit your company emails for company purposes, and send personal emails at home, at your own risk.
Email software isn’t that foolproof either, and there is a possibility that a program glitch can cause your message to be sent to another recipient in your address list. And of course, with today’s technology, it would be hard to believe that no one can access your account without the right motivation and capabilities. So it’s either you who make the Freudian send or someone else does it for you; either way, you’re busted. Your best bet is to stay clear off of the keyboard and focus your itch to flare up on something more productive, like a punching bag or a broccoli sprout. It’s much healthier that way.
