How to Practice Proper E-Mail Etiquette at Work

You should give careful thought to the content that you include in your e-mails before you send them.  Keep in mind that the recipient(s) of your emails could perceive your emails to be offensive, of bad taste, confusing, unprofessional, or just plain rude…even if this was not your intent.

Listed are ten practical tips for proper e-mail etiquette in the workplace.

Tip 1

Utilize the Subject Line

You should put a description of what the e-mail pertains to in the subject line so that the recipients will know what it relates to.

Tip 2

Never Use All Caps

You should never use all caps in your e-mails because your readers might perceive that you are yelling at them.

Tip 3

Keep Messages Brief

Keep your messages brief and stay on point…being careful not to confuse or bore your readers. Although it may be difficult to translate your true feelings through e-mail, you should be particularly careful at how you word your content; especially if you are angry at someone…I suggest that you take a deep breath and wait awhile before sending your email(s) if you are enraged.

Tip 4

Never Use Profanity

You should never use profanity in your e-mails, even in a joking manner.  First of all, it’s very unprofessional and second, it shows little respect for the receivers.

Tip 5

Don't Spam Your Co-Workers

You should never flood your co-worker’s e-mails with spam mail.  Remember you are at work and this can be quite annoying for some.

Tip 6

Don't Bad Mouth the Company or Other Employees

You should never use your e-mail to send out unflattering remarks about the company or the employees of the company.  You don’t know who could forward such e-mails to management.  Also, the workplace is not the place to bad mouth others on company time.

TIP 7

Don't Send E-mails BBC without informing other Recipients

It’s not good etiquette to send blind copies of your e-mails without the knowledge of the other receivers.  This could be very hurtful to some, should they find out.  This could also cause unnecessary conflict and could diminish your trustworthiness with others.

Tip 8

End with "Thanks", followed by your Signature

It’s shows common courtesy to sign off on each e-mail with thanks; this decodes a message to the recipients that you are respectful of their time. You should also sign your name (electronically, of course) at the end of each email.

Tip 9

Utilize Spell Check

Make sure that you use your spell check before you send out your e-mails.  You should also read over them to check for grammatical errors as well.

Tip 10

Don't Forget to Send Attachments

If you inform your recipients that you have enclosed an attachment(s), make sure that you do just that.  You know yourself how frustrating that can be when someone tells you that they are sending an attachment only to discover they forgot.  In the event that you ever forget to send attachment (s), not to worry…just send them later and be sure to apologize to your receivers.

More Tips:

*Never mark e-mails urgent, when they are not

*Be careful not exclude anyone who should receive an e-mail

*Don’t forget to send cc, when applicable