My Boss Said... email at work

[china autie]

I was reading AskAmanager.org. AskAmanager dot org and the woman there said we are supposed to start and end work emails with a greeting. Other places on the Internet say the same.

I asked my boss and he said "Hello Hetta", is more formal than just launching into the subject matter. I had thought the opposite, that just launching in to the business kept the email focused on business.

It is almost like small talk, having to put a greeting and a goodbye. But I am willing to do because the boss does it.

Hello Whoever seems okay. And Thanks at the end seems okay. But if you aren't thanking someone, then what to put instead ? One article said stuff like:

Best [best? really?]
Warm regards [which does not sound business to me]
Goid bye [too cutesy?]
Talk with you later [but what if we talk primarily through email and texting? 'Communicate with you later' is more accurate but they all sound weird to my ears.]

I really do not understand why hello goodbye is a thing in business email but it seems that it is.

Thoughts?

 

[Aspychata]

yes, l torally get that. l don't understand the greeting either. l think its to desinate formality with emails such as the one from your boss. If you rip a fast email off to your friend down the street, you may skip Hello Sara, blah blah blah. So l would use salutations depending on who it's going to.

 

[Pats]

Is this emails to people you work with? If so, I guess I could understand - more professional to let them know you know their name. But when addressing someone in a different business that you don't personally know, it seems it would be unprofessional. I'm the old school - To Whom It May Concern....straight to the point....Sincerely, Me. CC:whoever.
But even within the confines of co-workers I'd probably skip the informals and go straight to the point.

 

[Mia]

It's a formality, I think from letter writing and greetings of different sorts from various eras. That seems to have segued into the digital age. And your right, it does at times seem as if it's small talk, and often pointless.

With a business or a stranger it's signed sincerely, or regards. And begun with Hi _____ Hello_____ Dear____. Especially the beginning with dear, which seems awkward.
Sometimes I'll write Attention: Name of the person/Department.

Most of the emails I write to people I know, end with my first name.

 

[Aspychata]

But l get her point, it feels strange putting all that in there, it maybe a sensory thing with us, it's defintely weird.

 

[Judge]

Business communications protocols. They usually change from one decade to the next anyways.

In the 70s it was: "With reference to the captioned, please be advised....". LOL...not exactly cordial. But I did it because I was specifically instructed to do so.

In the 80s it was: "Kiss-Kick-Kiss". Or as a former boss told me, be kind and cordial with a greeting, first and foremost. Then deliver the bad news. Then be sure to end it all with a kind good-bye. No matter how hypocritical it may appear.

In the 90s it got a bit more simplistic. Where managers insisted we write exactly as how we would speak on the phone with external customers. LOL...some of us had a good laugh about that, but then you'd have to know some of the people in my department in terms of how formal, rigid and downright hostile they spoke to our insurance agents.

I can only point out that in the end, for better or worse it's what your employer and their corporate culture usually wants, whether it conflicts with your way of doing things or not.

In my own case, I never really cared how it was done. I had no control over such policies anyways.

 

[BraidedPony]

Many times I’ve had to go back and insert a greeting before I hit send. The way I look at it the greeting is to set a cooperative mood and get their attention. Then the sign off is to end with a pleasant tone to end the conversation.
This way it seems useful and less like the hated small talk.

 

[BraidedPony]

Dear Posters and Guests,
Thank you in advance for reading my post....lol
Sincerely,
Pony

 

[Pats]

Dear Posters and Guests,
Thank you in advance for reading my post....lol
Sincerely,
Pony

To Whom It May Concern:
The following denotes my opinion. I'll do it my way. LOL
Sincerely,
Pats

 

[Progster]

Hello Whoever seems okay. And Thanks at the end seems okay. But if you aren't thanking someone, then what to put instead ?

I put "Hello X/Hi X/ Dear Mr/Ms/Mrs X/Sir or Madam according to how well I know the the person, if at all, then launch straight into the email. I end with any of the following:
With thanks
Kind regards
Have a good day/evening/weekend,

Then sign off. I see them a bit like bookends, they have to be there to open and close the email, otherwise people find it too abrupt. Why, I don't know. If the email turns into a thread or conversation, I don't see the need to repeat all this and just write the message.

 

[Ken S.]

I was reading AskAmanager.org. AskAmanager dot org and the woman there said we are supposed to start and end work emails with a greeting. Other places on the Internet say the same.

I asked my boss and he said "Hello Hetta", is more formal than just launching into the subject matter. I had thought the opposite, that just launching in to the business kept the email focused on business.

It is almost like small talk, having to put a greeting and a goodbye. But I am willing to do because the boss does it.

Hello Whoever seems okay. And Thanks at the end seems okay. But if you aren't thanking someone, then what to put instead ? One article said stuff like:

Best [best? really?]
Warm regards [which does not sound business to me]
Goid bye [too cutesy?]
Talk with you later [but what if we talk primarily through email and texting? 'Communicate with you later' is more accurate but they all sound weird to my ears.]

I really do not understand why hello goodbye is a thing in business email but it seems that it is.

Thoughts?

I start emails with Sir or Ma'am and end them with
Sincerely, (Insert your name here).
Easy way to show respect without making small talk out of it.

 

[Gracey]

There’s nothing more souless than a work email that doesn’t start with salutation or obeisance in some form.

I’d always believed it to be a courteous acknowledgement of the person/s receiving the email.

I haven’t worked in an office for a number of years, I don’t know what’s on trend these days.

Probably wouldn’t stop me formally opening and closing a message to someone else.

 

[BraidedPony]

To Whom It May Concern:
The following denotes my opinion. I'll do it my way. LOL
Sincerely,
Pats

ROTFL!

 

[Dias]

Where I work people use the term Dear a lot, not just for mails but also during a face to face conversation (sorry for my limited English expressions).
I find it totally fake and most of the times I feel they use it in a sarcastic tone, or just as a joke .
I am going off topic, but Dear is a term that I really don't like to use or hear.

 

[onlything]

Let's not forget about the whole official need of a closing sentence before you close it with a greeting in the formal mails... like for example:
'I am looking forward to you answer.
[Closing greeting],
onlything'

You can also put 'Kind regards' or 'Regards' in formal mails. Things such as 'All the best' or 'Best' are considered more informal so you need to 'read the mood'. At least in this country. It shows your professionalism etc.

It's like another set of unnecessary unwritten rules. Sometimes it seems like people just want to complicate things for the sake of it. Eh.

 

[onlything]

Where I work people use the term Dear a lot, not just for mails but also during a face to face conversation (sorry for my limited English expressions).
I find it totally fake and most of the times I feel they use it in a sarcastic tone, or just as a joke .
I am going off topic, but Dear is a term that I really don't like to use or hear.

Same here. Love and Dear are definitely some of these highly overused words which makes them loose their meaning.

 

[Mary Terry]

When I worked in my law office, I usually started the first email of the day with just a "Good Morning" or "Good Afternoon, [name of recipient]" and "thank you" at the end. Subsequent emails to the same person(s) throughout the day did not require a greeting but I always closed with a thank you.

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

Dear Mr you're not the boss of me,

You will find the work you asked me to do attached.

You will find it is perfect,even though the whole thing was a dumb idea from the start.

I think you will also find your wife's bum does look big in..
Well she's massive work it out.

I've also attached some mildly amusing anecdotes about your own dress sense and lack of intelligence .



Yours, ever in anticipation of the next dumb thing you want me to waste time on,

Fridge

 

[Judge]

Dear Thug:

Your clodes. Gib dem to me.

NOW.

Lovingly Yours,

Model T100, Cyberdyne Systems

 

[Pats]

Let's not forget about the whole official need of a closing sentence before you close it with a greeting in the formal mails... like for example:
'I am looking forward to you answer.
[Closing greeting],
onlything'

You can also put 'Kind regards' or 'Regards' in formal mails. Things such as 'All the best' or 'Best' are considered more informal so you need to 'read the mood'. At least in this country. It shows your professionalism etc.

It's like another set of unnecessary unwritten rules. Sometimes it seems like people just want to complicate things for the sake of it. Eh.

And then there's the "thank you for handling this in a timely manner." I'll throw that in sometimes.