A 2006 survey of 416 companies by the ePolicy Institute in Columbus, Ohio, concludes that 26 percent of employers have fired workers for inappropriate e-mail conduct, up from 21 percent in 2001.

With more companies monitoring their employees’ e-mails and adopting more stringent use policies, here are some guidelines for e-mail sense:

¢ Don’t use company e-mail to conduct personal business. Send those messages to your girlfriend or grandma from your Yahoo! or Gmail account. They are usually not susceptible to company e-mail laws (though it’s best to use them on your own time).

¢ Proofread before you send an e-mail. Once you’ve hit the “send” button, there’s no way to take back your words. So make sure you review each message before unleashing it on the world. E-mail is a reflection of you – be sure to check your spelling and grammar.

¢ Don’t let e-mail become a substitute for face-to-face communications. Sometimes an in-person or phone talk is more fruitful than an endless chain of e-mails.