5 Email etiquette at workplace

Business or workplace emails are essential components of professional life. A simple text can make or mar your career. If not written well, an email can be misinterpreted causing confusion and chaos. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid any kind of negligence while writing business e-mails. Even more, proper email etiquette should be followed in the workplace, especially when you are interacting with your seniors.


Many companies even track each and every e-mail sent or received by an employee on the company's internal mail server. The company also records the e-mail that you have already deleted from your mailbox. Therefore, you must be alert while writing emails. Check your e-mails carefully before sending it out in order to find out whether it properly conveys the message intended.


Keep in mind the following golden tips to while communicating through e-mail.



1. Greet the recipient



Always start your email with a greeting instead of writing the message directly. Make use of basic business salutations like "Dear" instead of "Hi." Address the person with his first name if you are familiar with him and his department; otherwise use his full name or last name. The word "Hi" can only be used for colleagues with whom you share a friendly relation.



2. Use proper language



Your email may contain grammatical and linguistic errors. Do remember that careless mistakes for punctuation and spelling errors definitely leave a negative impression on the reader. This is not only unprofessional; but also shows the recipient that you did not take much care while writing the email. Consistency is another important factor in an email. Use the same punctuation and capitalisation everywhere in an email.



3. Don't use abbreviations



Don't assume that your reader knows the particular abbreviation mentioned by you. If you do so, your purpose of sending the email will remain unfulfilled as the reader won't get its intended meaning. If you have to use an abbreviation, first spell out the entire phrase of what the abbreviation stands for and use the abbreviation afterwards.



4. Promptly reply to messages



Always revert back to the sender by replying to his email as early as possible. If you do not follow it, the sender may think that the email is not of much importance to you. Early responses show the type of person you are. Proper workplace email etiquette in responding early will help you to build a good reputation.



5.Use email only for work



You must be familiar with the difference between a personal and a professional email. Never use your work email as a personal email inbox. Likewise, you must send personal emails to your team mates' personal email ids and work email should contain professional correspondence only. Keep in mind that your company can anytime inspect emails sent or received by you.



Today's work environment includes e-mails as a valuable technical tool. Employees need to remember that e-mails at workplace should be used for work only. Remember that e-mail is best used as a reinforcement of information or to document policies; it should not be used to avoid face-to-face situations.