# leaving a senior position in a company should I be Deleting my work emails?



## Killter (29 Mar 2011)

Hi folks,

I am leaving a senior position in a company that carried out many projects - should I delete my work emails? Or should I leave them there for the incoming person. There would not be anything personal in these emails, but still I feel it is very voyeuristic to leave them there.....

Any ideas?

Many thanks.

Killter


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## horusd (29 Mar 2011)

As they are part of your work for that company, then surely you should leave them as they may be needed? Imo whatver is contained within has been work paid for by the company.


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## dewdrop (29 Mar 2011)

Are not work emails not much the same as paper correspondence?


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## UFC (30 Mar 2011)

Personally I would delete them.

I agree there is something a bit creepy about other people reading your e-mails (without your direct permission).

Be aware deleting them in Outlook is not necessarily the same as deleting them off the mail server. I can elaborate on this if necessary.


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## dahamsta (30 Mar 2011)

I wouldn't delete them. They're the property of the company.


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## callybags (30 Mar 2011)

I would ckeck your employment contract.

Most employers now put in a clause relating to electronically stored information being the property of the company and must be returned on leaving.


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## elefantfresh (30 Mar 2011)

Yup - I'd concur with Cally - I believe even my notepads with years of scribbles and doodles from various meetings are company property.


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## csirl (30 Mar 2011)

Any time I've changed jobs, I've always left work emails in situ (I delete any personal emails including any private internal emails with e.g. personel dept etc.) and give someone the password for the email account. Dont see any issue with people reading them as they are work related.


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## Killter (30 Mar 2011)

cheers lads....nothing in the contract regarding property of the company etc. I think I'll compromise by deleting some folders and not others.

thanks lads.

Killter


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## Complainer (30 Mar 2011)

Find out if the company has an archiving or retention policy. If it's not personal stuff, I wouldn't be inclined to delete it. Somebody else in the organisation already has a copy of the email, so it's not like they have state secrets in them. It's just work.


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## AlbacoreA (30 Mar 2011)

+1 find out the company policy. 

You could archive it, password protect it and then wait and see if anyone asks you for it. 

I keep my work and personally emails entirely separate.


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## Killter (11 Dec 2011)

Thanks guys.


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