Just when you thought that common sense existed, you read something that convinces you otherwise.
I came across an article on the SHRM site that listed real emails that ended up causing employers a bunch of grief. I thought I’d share them for your amusement.
- In response to an e-mail about an employee being on leave, a manager e-mails a co-worker that the employee was probably “recovering from another bender.”
- In response to an e-mail about a worker being separated, a manager e-mails a co-worker that the company is “better off without that thieving SOB.”
- An e-mail between male managers mentions that one of them was going to have drinks with a particular employee. In response, the other manager says he “wouldn’t have a drink with him on a bet as he wasn’t sure which way he swings.”
- A manager e-mails, “I am going to have a stress disorder from trying to accommodate everyone. I need an accommodation.”
- A manager e-mails, “I am tired of employees who don’t want to work hard claiming they can’t.”
- Another manager e-mails, “This employee needs an accommodation about as much as I need a migraine.”
- A manager questions HR about an employee’s need for leave, saying, “Come on. Hasn’t she been out enough? She’s faking it. This is ridiculous.”
- When an employee is given a Friday afternoon off for religious reasons, a manager fires off an e-mail saying, “This is a bunch of baloney. I wonder where she’s going.”
- A senior-level manager e-mails an employee about which vendors he would or would not sleep with, giving the name, rating, characteristics and prominent body parts.
Wow. Whatever happened to the expression that if you didn’t want to see your email on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, don’t send it! It’s easy to sense the careless attitude in these emails and I bet the managers thought they were being funny when they sent them.
SHRM recommends that managers and employees receive training on email professionalism and making sure the content of emails was as professional and courteous as if they were speaking to colleagues face to face.
Do you think folks are losing professionalism in emails? Have you noticed an upswing on dangerous sarcasm?