You’re stressed. You’re tired. It’s been a long week and you’re counting down the seconds to 5pm… and then you receive an email from a colleague so frustrating you just want to pick up the keyboard and throw it at them.
But you don’t. Because this is an office and is considered a civilised place full of civilised people.
Instead, you craft a passive aggressive email, choosing your words carefully so as not to incite a conflict. And you’re not alone.
Listen: Apparently, doing this is a sure-fire way to make sure you’re not taken seriously. (Post continues after audio.)
Twitter users have shared their most professional-sounding, yet secretly hostile phrases when they’re caught in an excruciating email chain.
Fiction writer @DeeRene_ kicked things off by asking: “What is your favourite phrase to use in a professional clap back?”
“Mine is ‘per my last email…'” she offered.
A flurry of responses unveiled the passive-aggressive phrases lurking in all of our inboxes.
Withholding niceties from your salutation.
Have you received an email that ended with “regards”, where it was once “kind regards”? Yeah, that person is probably pissed off.
My scale:
“Kind regards” = default
“Regards” = I’m pissed off & want you to know
“Warm regards” = I will end you & you won’t know it was me— Charles (@charleswrites) August 22, 2017