The Unwritten Rules of Work Email

You will write hundreds of emails.

That’s not such a bold claim: the average office worker gets 121 emails daily, and the sheer number of emails sent in a single day amounts to 269 billion. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, we give away 13 hours to email every week.

From these figures, email is unavoidable–you can even say that office workers live and breathe email. It’s still the primary means of communication at work (excluding face-to-face conversations), especially when reaching out to people outside your company.

Regardless of your position or your industry, writing is one of those skills that you’re not allowed to neglect. Given that email is so prevalent, you should be well-versed already in the unstated rules of writing work emails, but here’s a refresher:

Follow the standard structure

It’s a formula you see nearly every time–have a definite greeting and closing, then end with your signature block.

You have several options for greetings, ranging from “Hi” to “Dear” to “To whom it may concern.” Gauge which one to use based on how formal you should be, and include the recipient’s name as much as possible to keep it personal.

For closings, classic choices include “Sincerely” and “Best,” although you may want to try out “Thanks” and “Thanks in advance” since they tend to provoke the most responses.

Finally, your signature block should contain your full name, your position, and the company you’re working in, along with your contact details. Keep your contact details concise: you don’t have to include your phone number, unless you want the recipient to call you.

Be mindful of your grammar

The details matter! Emails may be more flexible than letters, but they’re definitely not as lax as texts or instant messages. Emojis are generally to be avoided, although you can use an occasional smiley.

Hold your language to the same thoroughness as if you were writing a full-blown report: capitalize the first letter of your sentences, put in proper punctuation, and aim for perfect grammar. You never click Send right away: take the time to read through your email for possible errors.

Likewise, be neat with the formatting. As much as possible, use the same classic font and color all throughout (it’s kinder on the eyes!) and avoid all caps (because that’s the written equivalent of yelling).

Consider your tone

This is where your discernment comes in. You have to adapt your tone to whoever you’re sending it to.

When in doubt, it’s better to be too formal than the opposite–especially when the recipient is someone outside the company. With coworkers, though, there might be a bit more leeway for you to be casual.

Take note that email (or anything that’s written) can be easily misunderstood because it doesn’t include body language: a joke that cracks people up when you tell it in person may fall flat in an email. Moreover, it doesn’t have the emojis or stickers–the additional expressiveness–of more casual messaging.

To avoid giving the wrong impression, don’t send emails when you’re enraged or highly emotional. Calm down first, then write.

Be concise

The purpose of an email is utilitarian: it isn’t meant to be art. Keep it short, sticking to 150 words or less. Be considerate of the other person’s time.

This also applies to the subject line, which should be clear and self-explanatory. People usually decide whether to open an email or not based on the subject line. If they’re viewing their inbox on a mobile device, that’s all they get at first glance.

Here’s something interesting: emails with no subject lines are opened more, probably because they stand out and pique people’s curiosity, but we definitely don’t recommend this–it’s unprofessional, and looks like spam.  

Respond on time

Make it a personal policy to reply to all emails addressed directly to you. Aim for a 24-hour response time. If you can’t give a full-blown response right away, send a quick email confirming you’ve seen it and you’ll follow with a more detailed reply in a bit.

HubSpot recommends shortening the time frame to 12 hours when it comes to your teammates–they might need your response to continue with their work. For emails from outside the company, you can stretch it out to until end of the week maximum.

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