A new study has revealed the email habits that Brits find most irritating in their workplace communications. The study, conducted by tech retailer Currys, asked 1,000 UK-based office, hybrid, and remote workers about their email preferences and pet peeves, uncovering a few common annoyances that unite people across different generations.
According to the survey, the most disliked email habit among Brits is unnecessarily CC’ing people into emails. A staggering 44% of respondents said this was their top email pet peeve, with the issue equally disliked across all age groups: 49% of Gen Z, 42% of Millennials, 46% of Gen X, and 42% of Boomers all expressed frustration with this practice.
The second most annoying habit is receiving long-winded emails, which 43% of Brits find bothersome. However, the annoyance level varies by generation. While 62% of Boomers and 47% of Gen Xers dislike lengthy emails, Millennials and Gen Z are less perturbed, with only 36% and 32% finding them frustrating, respectively.
The third most disliked email habit is the use of slang terms such as “OMG,” “LOL,” and “WTF.” Nearly four in ten Brits (39%) consider these terms inappropriate for professional communication, with 60% of Boomers, 38% of Gen X, and 39% of Gen Z all stating they find them off-putting.
The survey also highlighted other email habits that Brits find frustrating. Spelling mistakes and poor proofreading are disliked by 38% of respondents, while 37% of workers find it annoying when emails are marked as “URGENT” when they are not.
As people receive an average of 90 to 120 emails a day, certain overused phrases are also causing irritation. A quarter (25%) of those surveyed reported that the phrase “as per my last email” was particularly annoying, while 23% said the phrase “just looping you in” also rubbed them the wrong way. Additionally, “not sure if you saw my email” irritated 22% of respondents.
For those who send frequent emails as part of their job, the phrase “any updates on this?” was named as frustrating by 18%, while 17% were bothered by “just a friendly reminder.”
Email sign-offs were another area where Brits showed clear preferences. Ending emails with “tara” or “tata” was named the most annoying by 27% of respondents, while other casual sign-offs, such as “sent from my iPhone” (25%), “May the Force be with you” (24%), and “To infinity and beyond” (24%), also caused irritation.
On the other hand, traditional and friendly sign-offs like “Have a great day/week/weekend,” “Many thanks,” “Best wishes,” and “Cheers” were well-received. Nearly half (49%) of respondents agreed that “Have a great day/week/weekend” was a friendly and appropriate sign-off.
In conclusion, the survey highlights that Brits value clarity and professionalism in email communication. Overuse of slang, unnecessary CCs, and casual sign-offs may not be the best choice for fostering effective workplace communication.
