using 'Hi' instead of 'Dear' in work emails...

[Crosbybeach]

...when you don't know the person you are emailing/responding to. Also if they have used 'Dear your name' to respond with Hi, when you don't know them just seems too casual.

I don't have a problem with people emailing me with 'Hi Crosby' when I don't know them. But if I don't know someone and it's a formal email, I'll always use 'dear'.

Am I hopelessly out of touch? (mid 40s...)

I use Hello and Best wishes/regards in more formal e-mails, although I used to use Dear and Yours sincerely/faithfully... They just felt too formal for the e-mail format.

I work in customer services and this is the way forward 'conversational' writing.

I like it but hard to do when you're used to a more formal approach.

The problem with dear is that you always have to follow it with a name, and that is a MUCH bigger can of worms.

I use good morning, good afternoon if its a little bit more formal, less stuffy I think than dear, less informal than hi.

We use 'dear' as you never know when your emails will get forwarded/ used for evidence/ required for an FOI request, always best to stay formal.

Rule of thumb: if you are using email in lieu of a conversation, start with Hi/Hello etc. if you are using email in lieu of a letter, use 'Dear'.

Lady I quite like that. Removes the whole minefield and gives the impression that the sender is hugely busy & efficient.

I tend to use Hi when I don't know the gender of the person.

I use hello and full first name (Peter not Pete, David not Dave even if they go by the shorter version in the break room) for the older gents at work who are very traditional (and stare at your cleavage )

Hi for everyone else as they're younger than me some literally 19

I always start work emails with Good Morning / Afternoon.

It really depends, partly on how the email is adressed to me so I kind of mirror the style. I particularly like emails from the older generation. They are written so formally, just as a letter would have been written, same with the layout. Makes me smile. I am easily pleased!

I use Good Morning or Good Afternoon then take my lead from love reply - if they reply with hi then I reply the same.

I work in an environment where people are very mindful of superiority and will use sir/ma'am for very senior people. Some senior people are quite informal but others prefer a more deferential approach which is fine by me.

Probably depends on your sector & culture of recipient.

Americans or folk I know well, or very casual contexts, I often go with Hi. Or if they reply with Hi that's fine too. Everyone else I would say Dear & think it was suspect if you didn't when addressing me

I'm a scruffy American btw.

I find the tricky bit is what name to use and when!!

opener:
Dear Mr. Obama (Dear Dr Cox)

& if he signs off Barry (Bri) in his reply then I can say Dear Barry (Bri) in the reply, but always open with the most formal address & name possible.

Love reply??? the reply

I also read my emails about 5 times before sending!!

I used Good morning/afternoon xxxxxx instead of hi if it's someone I don't know externally. Internally I use Hi.

Could be odd though, when you're emailing people in other time zones or they might not see your message for a day week month or 2.

I can spend HOURS composing emails .

Our top two guys at work who I rarely see but receive quite a lot of emails from don't even bother with hi, punctuation or anything. They are capable of it but to read their emails you would think they were semi literate

please forward jim hunters latest dev plan thanks marie

Marie is the name of the sender. It's very let's eat grandma/let's eat, grandma

ps: I think signing off emails (except the formal ones) is really stupid. First thing you do is see who sent it!!

I think it's also a bit to have special forms of greeting for senior staff. I treat everybody at work, from the cleaner to the CEO with respect and politeness. Treating senior people differently smacks of toadying and grovelling. I can't bear it.

I don't mind almost garbled noun-speak word emails at all from friendly colleagues, the less to read the better. Could take it as suspect from some people, though. OP started by talking about emails to strangers.

I wonder if I'm one of the few people who regularly greets the cleaners in the morning. Not good, is it :(

I don't get all this "too formal" milarkey. I fucking love formality, me, in a work environment. If I get a "hi" email about work I get worried that people are mistaking my polite, professional courtesy for friendship. If we are friends they do get to 'hi' unless it's the first email dealing with a specific (work) matter. I do "Good morning/afternoons" for team members or familiar colleagues and "Dear" for people I don't really know and team members when emailing to raise something specific which may lead to emails being forwarded or passed around to others. People who don't comply to my standards or formality get put on the spreadsheet as unprofessional/ needy

lazy I always have a good chat with our cleaner, she's lovely and we have kids the same age with mutual friends.

Some people literally watch her empty their bin and don't speak

I use 'Dear' or first name only, I think 'Hi' is unprofessional (work in property industry).

Oh the more senior you are, the more you can dispense with spelling and grammar it seems...