Emails to your boss

E-mail etiquette is very important in the working space. A modicum of straight-laced, formal writing is required when you are drafting up an email, especially in your emails to your BOSS. Communicating via email to your boss should be similar to communicating with them in person. Your co-workers may be your close “buddies” who share funny videos with one another during lunch break, but your boss is someone who you should look up to and respect. Aside from simply writing formally and avoiding humor, here are a couple of small tips on how to conduct yourself in an email with your manager/boss/supervisor/etc.

Never follow up with a “did you get that mail?” email: Your boss probably gets the most emails out of everyone in your office, oftentimes hundreds per day. It may take them a while to get to whichever one you sent. Do not add to their load by sending a follow-up vaguely asking if they got “” Either specify what the email is about, or ask them in person the next time you see them. Do not waste their time.

Avoid subject line only emails: It seems like the hip and trendy thing to do these days—to have a sentence-long subject line with no body text in the actual email itself. In the working world, it is actually kind of tacky. Your boss will expect something in the body text, and upon seeing nothing, will assume you forgot to write anything at all. Stick to traditional email structure: a brief subject line, then elaborate in the body text.

Do not use vague subject lines, or forget them entirely: The subject line serves a huge, crucial purpose: it tells you what’s in the email. It also helps you if you need that email later and need to search for it. Emails without subjects will often go unread by your boss, and ones with misleading or vague subject lines will be difficult for them to return to. Help your boss find things faster by avoiding generic terms. Again, be specific.

Remember to check twice on the “reply/reply all” function: Accidentally hitting “reply all” to an email chain can range from a mildly amusing embarrassment to a potential cause for firing. Check and double-check to make sure you know who you are replying to. This can be such a simple thing, yet people always forget it, and that’s when this mistake happens. Do not let it happen to you.