A couple years ago a former colleague of mine told me about an experience that she had with copied email. According to my former colleague, she was working as a receptionist at the time. One day she had to go to the restroom, so she sent an email to her supervisor asking if he could cover for her while she went to relieve herself. When her boss replied, she noticed that he had copied everyone in his chain-of-command. Needless to say, my former colleague was less than thrilled to have the director aware of her sudden need to potty.
While my former colleague’s story is definitely amusing, it helps to illustrate the point that we may have gone a little too far with our perceived need to “cover your ass.” Downsizing and threats of layoffs have made all of us more aware of just how unstable our jobs have become. The results of this workplace anxiety are offices where we no longer help each other, where we share very little about ourselves, keep our heads down, and are always looking behind for the individual with the knife ready to strike. With fewer opportunities to advance, we are equally unwilling to collaborate or share our knowledge with others for fear of being bypassed by the person we helped. The results of this new workplace atmosphere are poor communication, suspicious employees, redundant efforts, lost productivity, wasteful spending, and a lack of innovation in our workplaces.
The need to copy everyone on email is just an outgrowth of this new atmosphere. However, including everyone on an email can be a doubled edged sword, as David Shipley, deputy editor of the New York Times’ editorial page, and Will Schwalbe, editor-in-chief of Hyperion Books, found out. In their book, Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home (Alfred A. Knopf, 2007), they point out that CC should be used when you want someone to know what is going on, even though they may not have to take any action. They go on to caution that “because its purpose is murky” copying an email can end up being “a political and hierarchical minefield.”
When determining if you should copy, Shipley and Schwalbe state that you need look closely at the email message. According to the authors, individuals fail to realize that copying an email means you are escalating its importance. Depending on the content of the email, one can either increase the complement for the subject, or in the case of a reprimand, make the reprimand worst. They also ask that you remember a copied email has the potential to publically humiliate someone. As a result, you need to determine before you undertake the action if this is appropriate, and if the person that will experience the brunt of the shamed has the proper temperament to handle this type of public scrutiny. Some do, but others respond better to one-on-one contact.
Shipley and Schwalbe go on to point out that if you decide to copy an email, that you need to think carefully about whom to include, no matter if you are initiating the email or just replying to one sent to you. Just because several individuals are copied on the email sent to you, doesn’t mean they should continue to be included. Also, if you see that someone was not included, and you believe that the subject of the email is relevant to them, you should add them. Again, let the content and purpose of the email be your guide.
Just remember, before you add names to the CC line or hit the “Reply All” button, you need to think about the consequences. I know that my former colleague definitely would have appreciated it.