What you should know about sending an email at work

Proper email etiquette can be essential for workplace productivity.

MailTime, a mobile app, recently released the results of a survey which examined how we feel about email etiquette. Among the findings were the following:

• 88 per cent of respondents disapproved of emails that were not personally addressed to them.
• 87 per cent of respondents disapproved of emails that had numerous replies.
• 81 per cent of those asked disapproved of emails that were too long.

Mark Ellwood, of Pace Productivity, a consulting firm says unnecessary email exchanges can suck around 3.3 hours a week. He offered several tips on how to stay efficient and professional:

• Limit the number of people you “CC” to those who absolutely need to read the message. Every person copied is potentially another reply you’ll need to respond to.
• Avoid “Reply All” unless the message is intended for everyone in the original message.
• Avoid sarcasm because tone does not translate well online. Having to explain what you meant could require another email.
• Avoid telling “stories” about actions or events which happened; these are best dealt with in phone conversations. Limiting your emails to simple instructions, requests, questions and essential facts is the most efficient
• Avoid “blind copying” because it can come across as unprofessional.

In terms of length, emails should be limited to a single paragraph. A new survey by MailTime reveals that 19 per cent of recipients won’t read your entire email if it’s longer than a paragraph.

Ella Lund-Thomsen wrote guidelines for email usage for the University of Toronto. She has a few more practical tips that can cut down on email clutter and keep your messages professional:

• Keep subjects lines short and concise because they will stand out in the recipient’s inbox.
• Always include your name and title when emailing someone you’ve never corresponded with before. It adds credibility and increases the likelyhood they will reply.
• Never use all capital letters because it’s akin to yelling online.
• Avoid internet abbreviations (LOL, BRB) because they may not be universally understood.