The economy is down, companies are laying people off and people are saying their good-byes.

I received an email a month ago from someone who had recently gotten their notice that they were going to be let go at the end of the month. Their email said that they had really liked the people they worked with and that they appreciated all that they had learned while working for this company.

I remember several years ago being at another company that had also gone through a round of Reduction In Force employment activities. One of their employees sent out what amounted to “obscene email”. The email included many obscenities that were shocking not because they came from a normally complacent employee but because they were sent to “All” within the department.

Before the days of email, people would rely on the telephone or the U.S. Postal mail to communicate with former colleagues. Their conversations and letters were engaged without giving a second thought to their distribution outside of the intended recipient.

Today, the primary communication medium is through email. And employees recently laid off should give careful consideration to the contents of their very last email. Especially since emails can bounce around the electronic universe forever. How embarrassing it would be for a prospective employee’s last company email, filled with obscenities and spite, to resurface at a potential employers Human Resources department or, worse, get resurrected during an interview with a prospective employer.

As part of the exit interview processes it would be a nice consideration by an employer to include a Do’s and Don’ts list of tips for an employee’s last public email. The list could include helpful suggestions such as:

- Wait a day or two before sending the last email.
- Do not use the last email to vent personal ill will.
- Limit your last email to two or three sentences at most.
- Stay focused on the audience of your email.
- Keep it positive. Avoid negativities.

And, remember there’s a reason for such old adages as “…never burn your bridges.”