As you have guessed from the title, this post is about work emails and not Industry 4.0. I was born in a time when the internet was only on Star Trek, emails did not exist and the phones were attached to the wall.
Would I want to go back to those times? …..not sure of the answer
. I like all the tech and toys. I am waiting eagerly for 5G.
Pen and Paper Letter writing
The days of putting pen to paper in an attempt to write a letter, are long gone. Nevertheless, In replying an annoying letter with pen and paper, you had time brew over your emotions. There was nothing immediate about writing a reply to such letters or any letter for that matter. You first had to collect your writing and posting materials ( pen, paper, Dictionary, envelopes, stamps). Secondly, you would have to find a suitable time, without distractions to write a reply. You may have to scrunch up many versions before arriving at the preferred option.
It would probably take a few days or weeks to post a reply. The level of annoyance would have subsided as time is a healer of wounds. Often times you may decide not to post the reply as you now consider the annoying letter irrelevant. In tidying your drawers many years later, you may come across your reply, read it and have a good laugh at yourself. Laughing at the silly content of the letter that you never posted wondering why you wasted your emotions.
If those days did return, there would be letters that were claimed to have been written but not, claimed to have been posted but not, claimed to have been delivered but not. Likewise, letters would disappear without a trace or the dog blamed for eating it
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I suppose sending emails and hand writing letters both have pros and cons.
Email everything
Emails are the nemesis of paper letters. You log into your work emails at 9 am on Monday morning, someone has sent you an email at 8 am. Not only asking for a reply asap but also for a read receipt. If by the off chance the email is annoying, you reply stating your thoughts without any ‘filters’. It is easy to then become a ‘Verbal Executioner’ and let rip. This was me a few months ago. I have now developed a certain ‘skill set’ to stop me from putting my raw emotions in an email
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These skills are a work in progress and have helped prevent distractions within my work environment. Before we go any further, let’s get some definitions out of the way.
Abbreviations used in emails
Carbon copy (CC): Carbon copy refers to a method used to make a direct copy of a document when writing. Dark coloured paper is placed between two sheets of paper to ensure that what is written on the top paper directly transfers to the bottom paper.
CC means, in addition to the main recipients, the email was also sent to other people. Everyone who received the email can see other recipients.
Blind Carbon Copy (BCC): This refers to other recipients of an email who will see the main and CC’ed recipients. However, the BCC is not visible to the main and CC’ed recipients. Using this to disperse information is worse than the grapevine if your intentions are wrong.
10 Email skillset/Etiquette to protect you.
- Mind your business: Only reply to emails that are directly addressed to you. If you are cc’ed, only reply if you are mentioned in the body of the ema. This approach cuts down on the number of emails you need to act on. It also saves you wondering why you were CC’ed in the first place.
- Carbon copy (CC recipients) with common sense: CC those individuals that need to know the information in the email to enable effective decision making. CC’ing the whole world is an annoying trait that breeds distrust and is distracting for the recipients.
- Blind carbon copy (BCC) can be a bad idea: Use with caution. Using this to disperse information is worse than the grapevine if intensions are wrong. However, it is safe to use if you are sending bulk emails and you want to protect the privacy of the recipients. It also prevents recipients from mistakenly clinking: ‘reply all’
- Read copy and pasted emails with caution: When I receive emails with direct copy and pasted text from another email, I am cautious. Caution because I do not know the context of the original email. It is akin to listening to a segment of a recorded conversation and taking it out of context. I would usually ask for the whole email before responding.
- Careful who you CC in an email thread: I have fallen for this many times. In an attempt to keep individuals in the loop, I have replied an email with a few recipients and added a few of my own. However, checking the length of the email thread before sending is a wise move. There may be sensitive information that needs deleting.
- Vindictive CC and BCC: This is an action that calls for under-your-breath swearing. You get an email and forget to reply. 2-3 days later, you get a reminder with your boss copied in. This is childish behaviour. The best thing to do is send a reminder or pick up the phone for a conversation.
- Emails outside of working hours: because everyone sends emails outside of working hours does not mean it is the right thing to do. Type the email if you must (seeing as you don’t have a life ) and use the delay send option. You can choose the date and time to send the email. Just remember: if the email you received was asking for information and has more that one recipient, your reply may be received after a few people have replied with the same answer.
- Take emotions out of work emails: This is difficult to do but it is not impossible. Self-awareness is key. Be familiar with words that piss you off. It is easy to react to an annoying email especially if you can type with all 10 fingers. The advice of ‘type your reply but don’t send’ does not work for me, IT DOES NOT WORK! I do not type the reply in the first place. The way I deal with these emails is to delete them. Simple. End of story; I wish!! Once I have cooled down, I may go to the deleted folder and draft a reply or delete the email permanently.
- No one can misquote silence: There is a time and a reason to completely avoid replying an email. Once you make the decision not to reply especially to an annoying email, please do not change your mind. It is not always necessary to have the last say, that is for kids
- Keep your emails short and to the point: there is nothing off-putting than receiving an email that is an essay. I read the first and last sentence only. If I don’t get the gist of the message, it is deleted.
I find that I have to think of every word I type to ensure that I convey the desired message in as few words as possible. It does not matter if the email is annoying, insulting, a love letter or contains absurd language or thoughts, the reply has to be carefully thought through. You do not know where or who your email will end up with. It could be used as evidence for or against you. So, be wise!!
I cannot claim to know all the ins and outs of work emails. However, I can tell you it is necessary for the time and age that we are in. It is essential especially in the pandemic and without it, the economy will shut down. Thanks to the internet and cloud computing that enables all of this to happen. https://thespearking.com/cloud-computing-is-the-new-added-utility/
Take home message: Be smart when writing or responding to an email.
