Using Email at Work

Email is a professional tool to be used in the office. Many institutions tend to keep backup copies of emails from employees. These are legal documentations of events, activities and ideas written by employees or clientele. When emailing, choose your words carefully, and know that your receiver may keep this email for a long time. It is important that when emailing in the office, you want to sound professional and logical.

Office email sent out should be only work-related. Non-work related emails should be sent to or from your personal email address. This should be done on your own time, not when you are working. However, sometimes conflict arises between boss and employee, employee and employee, and employee and clientele. Sometimes, writing an email to complain about the conflict may seem like the only solution, when it really may not be the best idea because somewhere in the system, this email may be saved.

Here are some tips that should never be written in an email:

*Gossiping about your colleagues: including your boss, co-workers and clientele. You should never write about appearances or personality clashes. If you need to include people in your email, make sure it is done in an appropriate manner.

*Forcing your political or religious views onto others. This has been known to cause many conflicts in the workforce. This could offend many people because of political or religious differences, and possibly discriminations. These types of emails may increase tension in the work environment, adding stress to colleagues and productivity.

*Sending jokes or stories about racial or sexual issues. This could offend many people due to the sensitivity related to those issues. Your reputation could be damaged as well, hurting your possibilities for promotion or even retention.

*Soliciting money for personal emergencies. Although, many workplaces do help employees in time of need, you should never be the one to send an email. Another colleague should take that action on your behalf.

*Forwarding confidential information to employees outside your department, former employees, or competitive employees. That could be grounds for dismissal. By leaking confidentiality, you are hurting the company's image and reputation.
These are some of the basic things that you should never say or do in an email. Just because you don't see the email in front of you, doesn't mean it doesn't exist anymore. This is a form of documentation, and it needs to be treated as such. The next time you email, just treat it as another tool for professionalism.