Ask the expert: Dealing with those e-mail pest 'friends'

They may think they're being cute, but unwanted personal e-mail messages at work can become a problem ... DR MARIE WILSON, head of management and employment relations at the University of Auckland Business School and a veteran of 20 years in corporate management and small business, offers some helpful ideas.

Q: How can I tactfully tell friends not to e-mail me at work? Several of them send those moral tale-type e-mails ad nauseam and they drive me crazy.


A: Just tell them it is creating a problem for you, without being specific. They may assume that it is the company's problem, not yours, and you won't have to comment on their content.

Many businesses do have communication policies that require this anyway. The same professional etiquette applies to personal phone calls, e-mails and postal and courier services.

If that doesn't work, then wait until the next one is received and reply electronically that you are not supposed to receive non-business e-mails at work. If it seems you are part of a long friends' distribution list, ask that they delete your name.

If that's all you get from this person, you can also put their e-mail address in your junk e-mail address file and anything they send subsequently will automatically be directed to a junk mail folder.

Q: After a year of promises that a new company car would replace my six-year-old, 170,000km, 1600cc model, I finally received a three-year-old, 1600cc basic model Lancer to drive around my huge territory in.

My car is my office. I travel at least 30,000km a year. I have worked for the company for 13 years. For the last two, I have been an area manager and I have increased the sales of a rundown territory by over 100 per cent.

Am I justified in feeling insulted and undervalued?


A: Have you asked why you got the car you did? You seem to have made a very good case in your question, but perhaps this has escaped your manager's attention.

Before you talk to your boss, however, you might want to check a few things. 1. Your car is a portion of your total remuneration package; has the value been included in your package? It may be that your salary and bonus better reflect your performance than your car does.

2. Does your company have a policy regarding total remuneration (pay and benefits, including a company car)? How does your package compare?

3. Does the company have a vehicle policy? It may want to limit petrol costs, for example, by using more fuel-efficient cars in high mileage territories. When you have your facts together, talk to your manager.