At least five social workers in Scotland and England are facing (or have already faced) misconduct charges after forwarding a string of "joke" e-mails, including one containing a mocked-up image of convicted sex offender Gary Glitter carrying a child in a plastic bag. What do people think about this?
i think that 'joke' emails should be kept for private email accounts not work ones, n what one person finds humorous could be offensive to another.
It's just plain stupid. Firstly I always delete any 'group' email immediately without looking and the last thing on earth I'd do even on my home account is send them on to anyone else just because they annoy me so much.
But to do it on a work email account shows very poor judgement about use of electronic mail in general, certainly contravenes at the very least, employers internet usage policy and displays extremely poor judgement and that's even with completely innocuous 'joke' emails - let alone any that might cause offence!
The news story doesn't really say whether the LA went through a formal disciplinary process or just had them straight out for misconduct (which would seem a bit harsh for private emails that weren't actually seen by anyone unintended, however tasteless). But in view of the fact that they say there was a culture of (inappropriate?) joke emails at that LA, chances are that there's more that we aren't seeing (ie. not the first case).
I think it's a good idea for everyone to be familiar with their local policy on email and internet usage, and what usage their employer might consider to warrent a disciplinary -- just in case it's not obvious.
I find it is rare that I get any emails like this at work in my current job, I have maybe only had 2 - 3 in the last 6 months.
In a previous job it was more like 2 - 3 a week. The current job is local authority employees only, the former a mix of LA and NHS, with the weighting and management heavy on the NHS side of things...
Interestingly enough in both jobs the ''joke'' emails have mainly come from those in senior and managerial positions in the team, and looking back through the 'forwarding' history, usually came from the manager's manager or someone senior elsewhere in the organisation.
It is at this point I try to resist the urge to crack the joke that in fact most of the emails we receive from management at the moment are a joke, full of nonsense and in bad taste.
I failed miserably.
A local report in Scotland claims one of the social workers, Charles Devlin, sent more than 800 non-work e-mails in one month alone. His hearing is ongoing.
We all need a little light relief at work. I sometimes receive and send joke emails as do many others in the office. I think 800 non-work emails a month is a bit much, but what's the harm in having a laugh in your lunch break. Laughing is good for your mood and a good mood improves productivity and reduces stress!
I'm all for jokes, but I do not find child sex abuse to be a joke, actually. Maybe I'm odd, but I like to reduce stress in other ways. Also, at 800 e-mails a month, they took long lunch breaks to de-stress in.
I'm in two minds on this. I agree that it's wholly inappropriate to be forwarding on e-mails on such sensitive topics from a work e-mail account and spending work time doing this. However, at the end of the day, everyone needs to relax and have a laugh and people don't always take the full picture of their actions into account.
I think the point of this is: keep your personal sense of humour precisely that, personal!
Every time you forward a joke e mail, God kills a kitten.
I get really fed up with all these joke e mails, which are rarely funny, and also with endless warnings about viruses, which are all obbvious hoaxes.
I'm sure highly educated social workers can find ways of amusing themsleves without spamming up everybodys inbox!
Hi Kirsty, jokes like this should be shared in private not in the work place. As for the channel4 progamme which is due to be shown tomorrow night, I'm really looking forward to it.... What do you yhink?
Surely we are all too politically correct to have any group or person as a source of ridicule?? Only that never seems to be the attitude when it comes to "accetable" groups to ridicule such as the middle classes (especially doctors if u r a SW) and imperialistic Americans. What a biggoted group us social workers can be.
Yet to hear a politically correct joke that is funny. Any ones that you know please tell me.
Could you please define "politically correct" I don't know what it means.
Kirsty McGregor: At least five social workers in Scotland and England are facing (or have already faced) misconduct charges after forwarding a string of "joke" e-mails, including one containing a mocked-up image of convicted sex offender Gary Glitter carrying a child in a plastic bag. What do people think about this?
saw it.
Nope work it out for yourself. One of the most annoying things about Social Work discussion is if in doubt query the definition or the other tedious one is to continually compare the medical v social model. Probably one of the reasons for my wish to leave the profession is the fact that it is largely driven by rhetoric rather than any sound evidence base.
The more the merrier, social work offices are the dourest places on earth. social workers have lost their humour, gallows humour is the stock in trade of most offices I have worked in. you always exwercise caution if any of the "hysterical" PC crowd are around.
Voltaire I agree with every word you posted. Social Workers have become so PC and up themselves it is difficult to be neutral about everything that is said. The trouble with extreme PC is that it only represses what people say rather than change what they believe. Tends to act as a form of censorship rather than allow free speech.
Anyway cant stop to chat .... off to light an incense stick, hug a tree and waste my money on a complimetary therapy that has no evidence base to support it oops nealy dropped my crystal.
escapee:Social Workers have become so PC and up themselves
I don't know any SW's like this-are you living in a parallel universe? Maybe the 1960's?
Oh well, suppose in order to avoid being PC better go spend some public money sending up child sex abuse, then maybe I'll go work in adults for a bit and send up disabled people using money from everyone's tax, then I'm off to mental health to send up all the loons-courtesy of the public purse,of course. I'm sure no-one will mind-speech is free isn't it? Oh no, hang on...
perhaps we should have a contest for the funniest moments: I once remember a group of us being carpeted as we had watched a group of our clients much the worse for wear staggering accross a roundabout on the way to the drug project we worked in. The shout that went round the office as someone said if they aren't careful they are going to get knocked down by a bus was: at least it will get the waiting list down.
once worked with a german social worker; at the time there was stuff in the news about people being so obese that they couldn't be cremated as they were too big to fit in the ovens. I'll leave rest to your collective imaginations but his did involve the "quality of a certain type of german engineering. We also have good laugh at some of the delusional piffle that masquerades as child protection referrals.
interesting subject. So, going back the general concept of jokes, unfortunalety, in local authorities there tend to be some very strict internet and email policies, in some part this is good, but takes any sense of trust or individual accountability away from the actual person who does the deed. Sending joke emails is generally frawned upon (not a very funny play on words), but I have received a few and found they realy lifted my day. So, this may contravene some local policies, but what about colleagues having a joke in the office, especially beneficial to lift spirits after a particularly difficult day or case, surely such laughter in the office should also be deemed innapropriate as it is a non-work activity being done on work premises in work time. I am being a bit cutting here but hopefully you get my point.
What we need is not big brother restrictions and being beaten down with policies, we need proceedures and guidance that encourage and steer us to do the right things. We need to be trusted and if one of us should over step the mark, then deal with that individual, dont rewrite the policy so punishing everyone.
All I am saying is - there is a very sensible middle ground which allows all to take more personal and collective responsibility.