True confession - I happen to love e-mail. I find it a comparatively fast and reliable way to communicate information. I may not, however, love abuses of what can be a relatively helpful technology. Herewith, some common sense notions about e-mail etiquette in the workplace.
Do not conduct "war by e-mail." E-mail is fine for ironing out logistical differences; philosophical differences require a conversation. If you disagree with this point of view, come see me - don't e-mail me.
PLEASE DO NOT ANSWER WORK E-MAILS WITH AN EMOTICON: And, yes, I fully realizing I'm e-mail "shouting," but really? If you respond with an emoticon I have no idea what you mean. Someone recently responded to me with an emoticon - I don't know if they were pleased with my idea or laughing at me. Emoticons are fine for personal relationships and selected social media postings - but in the work environment they're moral ambivalence. People will wonder about you for years.
Please. . . do not conduct "survivor" e-mail threads. You know very well what I mean, the thread is so long that it finally becomes a test of will as to who can hang in there the longest and issue the last salvo. If the e-mail thread is longer than three responses - get out of your chair, or pick up the phone, and have a conversation already.
Please. . . be judicious in addressing your e-mail: E-mail is great because you can communicate ideas to an audience who really needs to know. It's not so great when it becomes the foremost tool of the insecure author who believes EVERYONE IN THE WORLD NEEDS TO/SHOULD WANT TO/MIGHT WANT TO KNOW. (Yes, I know, I was shouting again. I'll stop.)
Similarly. . .Use "Reply All" Sparingly. The parallel of "Reply All" is standing up in the middle of cubicle land with a megaphone and belting out your message to everyone in a quarter mile radius. "Reply All" means that everyone wants to see what you have to say. . .very rarely does everyone want to see what you have to say. Specific people certainly do want to see what you want to say. . .address your reply to those privileged individuals.
Please, stop whining about your e-mail. Yes, I know you have 174 e-mails in your in-box, but guess what, I probably have 183, 10 of which came from you!
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Brent Frerichs is the author of "Courageous Questions, Conident Leaders" available for e-readers, PCs, tablets and Apple products on Amazon Kindle. http://www.amazon.com/Courageous-Questions-Confident-Leaders-ebook/dp/B0095KPA6A/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1374640668&sr=1-1&keywords=courageous+questions+confident+leaders
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