Here’s a new buzz word for you – ‘netiquette’.
Yes, a recent survey by office support recruiter Crone Corkill has found that since email has become an essential part of business communication, people are now less formal and, consequently, less professional when writing to their colleagues in the business world, and are therefore in need of some ‘netiquette’.
The survey also revealed that 34 per cent of the secretaries and PAs questioned felt that punctuation and spelling has suffered due to the informal nature of email.
Of course, the other hazard of email that you didn’t have to worry about so much when sending a letter the old-fashioned way, is accidentally sending it to the wrong person. Hands up who has had the misfortune of that happening to them? Once that send button has been clicked, there is little you can do if you realise you have sent that rather personal email to your boss, rather than your best friend.
The report also listed the top five ‘netiquette’ complaints from respondents, as follows:
- Informality
- Bad spelling and punctuation
- Flagging routine email as urgent
- Omitting to put anything in the email subject header
- Receiving emails with long threads of previous correspondence
I have to say I agree that email has led to a more informal culture of communication, but is this necessarily a bad thing? Doesn’t that friendly email make you more approachable to a business colleague, rather than unprofessional? Plus, the immediacy of email in today’s fast-paced environment is certainly welcome.
However, the lowering of standards in spelling and punctuation – probably due in part to emails and text messages – is particularly grating. So I am sure we can all benefit from a bit of ‘netiquette’ every now and again – even if it is just to keep up with the latest buzz words.
Kind regards,
Lucie Benson
