Over the last year, I’ve communicated via email more than I ever have. Most communication was with co-workers I have to email on a regular basis, but there were instances where I was emailing co-workers in other Beasley Media Group cities that I’ve never actually met. Emailing someone new within a company can come with a little bit of anxiety. You want to come off as a person who knows how to communicate and work well with others. There were numerous times when I’d retype multiple sentences in emails because I felt that some of the phrases I was using were a little passive aggressive. Like texting, it’s hard to understand someone’s personality through email and you never want it to come off the wrong way at work. Here are 5 phrases to avoid using in your work emails that might come off as petty or passive aggressive according to CNBC:
- “Per my last email…” – This calls out the recipient for not reading your last email.
- “For future reference…” – This can come off as you calling them out on a mistake they knew they shouldn’t have made.
- “Bumping this to the top of your inbox…” – This is a passive way of saying you need something done now.
- “Just to make sure we’re on the same page…” – This basically saying you’re right and everyone else is wrong.
- “Going forward…” – You’re basically saying don’t ever do that again.
You can read more of what not to put in a work email here!