The email phrases to avoid at all costs in the workplace

Ever wondered which email phrases rile people the most? Thanks to Adobe, we now have the answer.

The creative platform's 2018 Consumer Email Survey analysed email language and identified a list of the phrases that are likely to displease (at best) your recipient.

Top of the list is, "Not sure if you saw my last email..." with 25 per cent of those polled identifying this at the number one most-annoying phrase used in work emails.

Next in line comes:
"Per my last email..."
"Per our conversation..."
"Any updates on this?"
"Sorry for the double email"
"Please advise"
"As previously stated..."
"As discussed..."
"Re-attaching for convenience"

The latter four phrases were identified as annoying by less than 10 per cent of the survey respondents. However, Refinery29 has still called them out as being "curt" and "menacing" and suggests softer language could be used. 

Other interesting takeaways from the survey relate to emails and marketing. Exactly half of the respondents said that email was the preferred method of contact when it came to communication from brands. Most (39 per cent) said they would prefer marketing emails to include less promotional content and provide more information. Women over 35 in particular agreed that emails provide them with an additional incentive to purchase. 

Back to what peeves people...nearly half of the respondents found emails sent too frequently (from brands) to be the number one most irritating thing. This was followed by emails that are too wordy or poorly written (23 per cent), being targeted with the wrong marketing data (22 per cent) and encouraging the purchase of a product that's already been made (22 per cent). 

To see more of the results, click here.