Amazing (-ly Bad) E-mail
In recent years, a good deal has been written about the clashes frequently experienced by various generations interacting in today’s workplaces. What a person will and will not write in an e-mail may be a less researched generational issue, but one that I suspect we’ve all encountered.
Yesterday’s New York Times ran an article on its front page, “Why It’s All About Me,” by Jonathan D. Glater. This article reports on a number of e-mails received by college and university professors, including one from a student who skipped class and then asked the instructor for copies of teaching notes, another from a “petulant” student who did not agree with a grade she had received, and yet another from a student who explained her tardiness to class by saying “she was recovering from drinking too much at a wild weekend party.”
The e-mail that caused my jaw to drop was one received by an associate professor of mathematics at UC-Davis. From a student in her calculus course, the instructor received this message: “Should I buy a binder or a subject notebook? Since I’m a freshman, I’m not sure how to shop for school supplies. Would you let me know your recommendations? Thank you!”
Among the most frequent complaints I hear from direct supervisors is the lack of common sense so many new recruits demonstrate when it comes to drafting and sending e-mail. Professors seem to agree that students have little fear of giving offense, imposing on a professor’s time, or even asking a question that may reflect badly on their judgment.
In response to these complaints, we’ve developed a program, From BlackBerries to Business Letters, which addresses appropriate writing practices in the workplace. The new recruits always want to “do the right thing.” but they’ve never been taught the rules of good business communication, among them: appropriate use of firm or company letterhead, appropriate e-mail content and basic rules of netiquette.
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